KARACHI: In response to a plea seeking contempt proceedings against the authorities for obstructing Sir Shah Suleman Road near the National Stadium during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches in violation of an earlier court order, the Sindh High Court (SHC) warned police and the district administration on Monday of potential legal repercussions.
The officials requested time to write a unified statement, and a two-judge bench led by Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi ordered them to provide remarks by Tuesday, or today.
The DIG-traffic was found to be absent when the bench heard an application from a petitioner seeking contempt proceedings against the officials for disobeying a recent SHC order. A reply filed on his behalf claimed that he had informed the officials in question of the court order to ensure compliance.
The chief justice ordered the DIG and other officials to come into court right away, expressing dissatisfaction over his absence and the closure of Sir Shah Suleman Road in spite of a police undertaking.
A contempt petition was filed against local government and police officers for disobeying a previous court order.
Following that, DIG Iqbal Dara and a few other officials showed up in court and said that the traffic police had not blocked the particular road. The court was notified by DIG operations that the road was closed for security reasons.
The chief justice told the officials that traffic on the highways near the stadium might be stopped only when the teams left or came, adding that the entire city had been put at risk under the guise of security concerns.
He requested in writing from the officials present in court that no route would be closed without a compelling reason.
Despite the fact that the court had issued a very explicit order on the subject, the chief justice expressed his disappointment with the responses from the pertinent officials.
He said that, thankfully, people still maintained faith in the legal system and issued a warning that, should courts fail to provide justice, the populace may turn to the streets.
He gave the officials instructions to make sure the relevant route wasn’t closed.
Together with other authorities in the courtroom, a provincial law officer asked the bench to allow time for the officials to file a united statement.
The petitioner, a supermarket owner, petitioned the Supreme Court on February 20. The petition stated that the store was situated on Sir Shah Suleman Road and that the authorities had previously blocked the aforementioned thoroughfare and nearby service roads during the Premier League and were planning to do so during the current PSL.
The bench dismissed the plea on February 27 after receiving assurances from the DIG traffic in a statement that the contested road will not be closed for the city’s PSL 9 matches.
According to the DIG-traffic, a PSL meeting chaired by the chief of Sindh police was held at the Central Police Office, where it was determined that Sir Shah Suleman Road will remain open throughout the PSL matches in the provincial capital.
The petitioners, however, filed an application on March 3 to seek contempt proceedings against the DIG and DC for their refusal to abide by the SHC’s order from February 29. They claimed that the alleged protestors had blocked the aforementioned road, as well as streets and lanes leading to the main road, for three to four hours prior to the start of the match, and that they had continued to do so even after the game had concluded.
