The Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to immediately de-seal PTI’s central secretariat in Islamabad on Tuesday.
Justice Thaman Rifat Imtiaz issued the verdict, accepting PTI’s plea against the sealing of their office on May 24 due to illegal constructions and encroachments.
CDA’s Notices and Compliance Issues Highlighted in Judgment
The judgment highlighted that “CDA relied on a Notice dated 5/9/2022 and a Show Cause Notice dated 4/9/2023 to justify the Sealing Order dated 10/5/2024, claiming compliance with Regulation 2.17 of the 2020 regulations and natural justice requirements.
However, the Show Cause Notice dated 4/9/2023 referred to a Notice dated 14/6/2022 issued to the previous owner, Mr. Sartaj Ali. The Subject Premises had transferred to the Portioner Party via a Transfer Letter dated 30/7/2020. CDA did not explain why the notice was sent to the previous owner instead of the current owner. There is also no explanation for why the Show Cause Notice dated 4/9/2023 did not reference the notice allegedly sent on 5/9/2022.”
The judgment further stated, “No receipt of the service of such notice/show cause notice is on record. A register maintained by CDA is insufficient proof of service, and calling for the same would serve no purpose.”
The court concluded, “CDA failed to prove that the sealing was done after issuing the mandatory notices and Sealing Order as required by the CDA Ordinance and its Regulations, which also mandate natural justice in every statute as per settled law.”
Yesterday, the court reserved the verdict on PTI’s plea. PTI lawyers Shoaib Shaheen and Umair Baloch, alongside CDA’s Hafiz Arafat and state counsel Malik Abdul Rehman, appeared before the court.
Shaheen argued that CDA included all the notices in their record but omitted the current one. He accused CDA of fraud, stating that notices were sent to the landowner, Sartaj Ali, not to PTI.
The CDA lawyer argued that PTI accepted buying commercial land but used it for political purposes. He added that the illegal construction of a floor on the land affected the surrounding residents, violating the granted permission.
The court questioned why CDA did not issue notices to both the owner and tenant to resolve the issue promptly.
Following these remarks, the court reserved the verdict on PTI’s plea.
Background to the Sealing of PTI Central Secretariat
On May 24, CDA sealed the PTI Central Secretariat in Sector G-84 for violating building by-laws as part of its crackdown on illegal construction and encroachment.
The illegal constructions at the PTI Secretariat were demolished with a heavy police presence. An additional floor was constructed on the plot, violating building by-laws. The operation led to a confrontation between PTI activists and the police, resulting in the arrest of PTI Islamabad President Aamir Mughal.
According to a CDA statement, several warnings and notices were issued to the plot owner over the past few years. “Notices were sent on November 19, 2020, February 22, 2021, and June 14, 2022, followed by a show-cause notice on September 4, 2023. Despite these warnings, compliance was not achieved, prompting the CDA to issue a sealing order on May 10, 2024.”
