ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday directed all parties to submit in court by the second week of January the relevant record of illegal sale of 26.5 kanals of land in the Diplomatic Enclave to Hamid Yar Hiraj, chairman of the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA).
A three-member bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday was conducting a suo motu hearing on a case regarding the allotment of a 26.5 kanal piece of land to Hiraj in 2007, allegedly in violation of rules.
The court issued the directives when Naeem Bokhari, lawyer for Shabnam Ashraf, who runs a school in the Diplomatic Enclave, informed the bench that he had challenged the allotment and the matter was pending with the Islamabad High Court.
Bokhari contended that the allotment was a classic example of cronyism, since no procedure was followed in the transaction at all. Hiraj had applied for the land even after the passage of the due date issued through an advertisement, he said.
Appearing on notice, Hiraj said he had purchased the land for Rs 75 million after going through due process. CDA’s lawyer Afnan Karim Kundi also requested the court to give him time for presenting the case record.
The court had taken notice of the matter following news reports that highlighted the issue.
