A security personnel stands guard outside the Islamabad High Court in Islamabad on August 29, 2023. (Photo by FAROOQ NAEEM / AFP) (Photo by FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP via Getty Images)
The Islamabad High Court has served contempt of court notices to top officials, including Chairman Captain (r) Anwar ul Haq, of the Capital Development Authority (CDA).
The contempt of court notices were served over the civic authority’s failure to comply with a court order regarding the allotment of a plot to a citizen, who has been pursuing the matter for more than ten years.
Other officials who were served the notices include Member Estate Tariq Salam and Director Estate Tabinda Tariq. The court stated that the officials willfully flouted, disobeyed, and disregarded its order dated October 10, 2023, regarding the allotment of a plot to a petitioner, Nizamuddin Siddiqui.
The petitioner had purchased the industrial plot located in I-10/3 from Ghulam Murtaza, son of Ghulam Ahmad. The plot in question had been allotted to Murtaza by CDA through an open auction.
The civic authority transferred the ownership of the plot to the petitioner on June 6, 2013, after he completed all the legal procedures. Mr. Murtaza subsequently requested to be given ownership of the plot.
However, as per the surveyor tasked with supervising the plot’s transfer, it was located within a graveyard, with two graves on it. Therefore, it was not possible to transfer the possession to the petitioner.
Last year, the federal authority was ordered by the court to make alternative arrangements for the petitioner but the authority didn’t comply with the directive.
CDA claimed that Husnain Haider Thaheem, its attorney, was neither instructed nor supposed to record the conceding statement. Furthermore, Thaheem also distanced himself from the panel of lawyers.
Mr. Thaheem challenged his dismissal, claiming that he had recorded the statement following the written remarks that had been filed in response to the petition.
Interestingly, during the previous week, several CDA counsels, including Khurram Mehmood Qureshi and Amir Latif Gill, came before Justice Jahangiri and said that the property was clear and there were no graves on the plots.
It is very shocking to observe that the plot was transferred in the name of the petitioner on June 6, 2013, but he has been roaming around the CDA’s office for more than ten years, but his grievance has not been redressed despite the statement of CDA Director Estate Management II and clear directions issued by the Court,” said the court’s order.
The aforementioned CDA officials were then served with show cause notices by the court, requiring them to appear in person on January 25.