The Sindh High Court on Wednesday barred the civic administration from removing Chhipa Welfare Association’s dastarkhwan and workshop from a pavement near its headquarters without due course of law.
A division bench headed by Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi directed the civic authorities and management of the welfare organisation to amicably resolve the matter involving removal of encroachments from the payment and provision of alternate place for welfare service.
The court was hearing a petition filed by the head of welfare organisation, Muhammad Ramzan Chippa, who moved the court pleading with it to restrain the civic authorities for unlawfully dispossessing them from the property.
The petitioner’s counsel submitted that following verbal permission of the authorities, the organization had set up its dastarkhwan and workshop on the pavement near its head office at Lines Area.
He claimed the owners of the adjoining plot wanted to grab the organization’s property and in an attempt to depose them they stormed the head office along with over 10 persons, damaging the furniture and other belongings. They also misbehaved with the organization’s head, he added.
Subsequently, the counsel said, the organization registered an FIR against them but later on they were released on bail.
He claimed that they approached Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI)’s former president Siraj Kasim Telli to have the property vacated from the organization. At the behest of Telli, the counsel said, the deputy commissioner telephoned the organization’s head, asking him to vacate the space and warned of action in case of non-compliance.