Police Foundation project under scrutiny 

Tenants sent eviction notices

Karachi: Recent litigation in Sindh High Court revealed that Karachi Police, besides its security duties is also involved in commercial activities through its welfare wing called Police Welfare Foundation. The foundation owns a big shopping centre in Haidry’s commercial area of district central where it had rented shops in a shopping plaza named Police Welfare Shopping Center. Litigation between 70 tenants of the shops and the Karachi Police has been going on for the last two years. Recently, despite being a court stay in operation; the Karachi Development Authority sent eviction notices to the tenants to vacate the shops within a short time, on the strength of orders of the Supreme Court passed during the hearing of human rights petitioners at its Karachi Registry.

Located adjacent to North Nazimabad Police Station, the Foundation had awarded the contract of building the shopping centre to Ghousia Builders and Company on Property bearing No. ST 3, police plot in 1988.

The Builder entered into various tenancy agreements on behalf of the Foundation’s president whereby the total cost of construction of each shop, Rs 50,000 was paid by the tenants, before possession and after handing over the physical possession a relationship of lessor and lessee was established between the Foundation and the tenants of the shops.

According to the tenancy agreements, the rent amount was fixed which was agreed to be increased by 10 per cent after every three years. The agreement also allowed the lease, besides renewing their tenancy, from time to time under the same terms and conditions, to transfer their tenancy/lease rights to a new tenant by paying a transfer fee to the lessor. Accordingly many of the first leasees transferred their tenancy to the new lessee by paying a transfer fee to the lessor. The lease was under an obligation to pay all taxes and utilities except the property tax and had a right to renovate their shops with instalments of fitting and fixtures and utility connections.

Ever since then, tenants have been enjoying peaceful possession as lawful tenants of the said shops and had been paying all the relevant dues and fees incurred on the said shops payable by them under the tenancy agreements. They have also been paying monthly rent regularly and as such to date had not committed default in payments of rent and any other bills whatsoever.

However, in January 2021, the Foundation through its president sent the petitioner’s notices for eviction declaring the petitioners as encroachers. They moved the Sindh High Court, which, seeking reply from the respondents suspended the operation of eviction notices.

Recently, the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) also issued the tenants/petitioners eviction notices stating that the market had been built on an amenity plot and therefore, was liable to be demolished to recover State land. The petitions came up for hearing after a lapse of eight months on November 8, and the respondents again sought time to file their replies.

The counsel for the petitioners, Advocate Mehmood Alam Rizvi contended that in the light of facts stated, in the petitions, the impugned notices were not only arbitrary but issued with malaflde intentions and ulterior motives just to blackmail the petitioners, as the Foundation wanted a huge increase in rent contrary to terms of tenancy/lease agreements. He apprised the court that the Foundation and the SSP Central had demanded an increase in rent up to 15 to 20 times more than the current rent which was not only unfeasible for the tenants but was also illegal as per Sindh Rented Properties Ordinance 1979.

The counsel contended that the cost of construction shops paid by the petitioners constituted the form of ‘pagri’ or goodwill tenancy agreements between the lessor and lessee which also allows the transfer of lease or tenancy to new tenants with all the rights and obligations contained in the tenancy agreements. As far as, the KDA’s stance is concerned, the counsel stated that the Authority quoted a general order of the Supreme Court, regarding the removal of encroachments from the State lands in the province, while it failed to produce any specific order regarding Police Welfare Shopping Center.

He questioned why had the Authority failed to take any action when the construction was going on, under the umbrella of police which claim to own the plot. The counsel pleaded with the court to direct the Authority to produce an order of the apex court which declared welfare projects of the Foundation as illegal and any directions for removing the same treating them as encroachment.

He contended that the matter purely pertained to a dispute over the quantum of increase in rent which could only be increased in accordance with already agreed terms. The eviction notices under section 2(J) of Sindh Public Property (Removal of Encroachment Act 2010) served on the petitioners, are liable to be declared illegal.

The court directed the respondents Sindh government, IGP Sindh, DIGP Karachi’s district central, Police Welfare Foundation and SSP Central to file their replies within two weeks and adjourned the matter to a date to be fixed by the court’s office.