KARACHI: Sindh High Court (SHC) has suspended the impugned judgment passed by Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Chairman Siddique ul Farooq in Constitution Petition No. D-202 of 2018 filed by Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) against ETPB’s judgment issued on November 25, 2017, in which it was held that KCCI building is an Evacuee Trust Property.
While suspending the judgment passed by ETPB chairman, the High Court has passed orders for issuance of notices to all respondents including tenants who were joined as a party by ETPB chairman for next date of hearing which has been fixed for January 23, 2018.
Meanwhile, Businessmen Group Chairman and KCCI former president Siraj Kassam Teli and KCCI President Muffasar Atta Malik, while expressing satisfaction over the abovementioned SHC’s order, said that a false and bogus reference about the ownership of KCCI’s building was filed by the ETPB deputy administrator in connivance with tenants which was heard by ETPB chairman, who grossly misused the powers and continued to favour the illegal occupants during case proceedings being the members of same political party, PML-N, and issued ETPB’s judgment against KCCI, which was immediately challenged at the Sindh High Court.
They said that some of the offices, which are KCCI’s property, remain illegally occupied since many decades. These illegal occupants have expanded from just two to three rooms to 12, 15 and even 17 rooms by illegally carrying out deals with those individuals who vacated their offices during the last 40 years. Hence, the KCCI decided to initiate legal action against the illegal occupancy and numerous cases were currently being heard at the court whereas some of them have been decided in favour of KCCI, they added.
They said that the building belongs to KCCI members and the members of the managing committee and office bearers, the elected representatives of businessmen group, business and industrial community, who are the custodians of this property.
