Summary The builder Abdul Razzaq Khamosh has been arrested from outside the court
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday vacated the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) ruling to demolish the building and ordered the builder to pay Rs 50 million in cash and the same amount in bank guarantee after the defendant admitted to violating the law.
The builder Abdul Razzaq Khamosh has been arrested from outside the court.
According to details, Moon Garden builder’s attorney Salman Akram Raja pleaded to court not to demolish the building or evict the residents because it is the matter of rights of as many as 200 families living in the building. He said the builders were ready to bear any financial penalties.
Vacating the SHC verdict, the Supreme Court ordered the builder to pay Rs 50 million in cash and another Rs 50 million in bank guarantee within 15 days.
The hearing of the Moon Garden case was presided over by a 2-member bench headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal. The defendant’s lawyer told the court that there are buildings as high as 12 storeys around the Moon Garden building and that this is the matter of rights of 200 families living in the 9-storey building.
Justice Afzal said in his remarks that the building can be demolished over violation of court’s orders asking whether the construction of the building was not in violation of the court order. He said “now you have come to the Supreme Court after doing something illegal.”
After concluding the arguments, the defense attorney threw himself at the mercy of the court and said that the defendant admits he violated the court orders by constructing a building higher than the permitted 4 storeys.
He pleaded the court not to evict people adding that the defendant is willing to bear financial penalty.
The defendant Abdul Razzaq sat quietly during the arguments. The lawyer of Railway Cooperative Society Adnan Chaudhry argued that the Moon Garden has illegally occupied the Railway Society’s land, claiming that all allottees of the building are also fake.
He said there were only 62 people living in the building until 2014 and now the claim is of 200 families. The court suspended the order to demolish the building after hearing from all sides. It asked what could be the adequate penalty that will fulfill the requirements of justice. “What could be the legal remedy that could prevent demolition of the building without violating the sanctity of the court order?”, the court asked.
The court said all these questions need attentive deliberation and that the lawyers should also help the court with it. The bench adjourned the hearing for indefinite period.
Following the court proceedings, the builder was arrested from outside the court by the Islamabad police.
The sources said that Razzaq Khamosh is wanted by the Sindh police in various other cases as well.
