Charity cannot justify illegal occupation, The Supreme Court reprimands Malik Riaz
The Supreme Court ordered Malik Riaz to deposit Rs 5 billion within two weeks in a case related to the property tycoon’s housing project in Karachi.
Lashing out at Malik Riaz’s charity work, the Justice Nisar said that charity work cannot be done by bribing people. Malik Riaz, however, swore that he had never bribed anyone.
A three-judge SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, also directed Riaz to submit an affidavit along with recommendations and to appear before the court also on Wednesday (today).
During the hearing on Tuesday, the CJP asked Bahria Town chairman to keep in mind his afterlife as Riaz enumerated his contributions that have ‘transformed a third world country into a first world state’.
“Bahria Town provides uninterrupted electricity to its residents; has several educational institutions, old-age homes, leisure points and a world-class hospital.”
“A city that was infested with Kalashnikovs has been turned into an epitome of developmental projects,” Riaz said in a reference to Karachi.
The project also features world’s third largest mosque, Riaz said, to which Justice Nisar responded by saying that the court cannot allow Riaz to continue with illegal ventures just because of his religious projects. “You cannot occupy lands illegally and then do charity,” the CJP added.
Riaz had appeared before the Supreme Court in a case pertaining to Bahria Town Karachi issuing notices to people who have already been allotted plots, commercial buildings or build-up units to make payments to a new bank account set up by the housing society.
Earlier in the day, the chief justice had barred the housing society from collecting any payments, saying that the administration of Bahria Town Karachi had violated court orders by opening up a separate bank account to collect outstanding payments.
Riaz appealed that the court should restrain from passing a verdict that would affect its employees, adding that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has already cleared the housing society. The top judge then ordered Riaz to deposit Rs20 billion in the court, saying that the money had to be returned to the nation.
The property tycoon then pleaded the court to reduce the amount to Rs5 billion “in God’s name”.
When Justice Nisar told him to mortgage his 100 kanal house, Riaz claimed that he had no property and the house he lived in belonged to his wife. The CJP then reduced the amount to Rs10 billion.
However, Riaz continued to invoke God and plead that the court reduces the amount to Rs5 billion.
As a huge amount of money on account of allotment of different lands were still outstanding against the allottees, some makeshift arrangement should be made to facilitate the recovery and secure it, the judgement had stated. Bahria Town Karachi was also barred from selling or allotting land by the top court after declaring that the land for the project was acquired illegally.
Malik Riaz has requested the court to stop NAB from further investigation until a verdict is out. “On Monday, several residents of Bahria Town pleaded me to save the investments they have made into the housing society,” he added.
Justice Nisar subsequently ordered Riaz to deposit Rs5 billion in the next hearing, along with his property documents and an undertaking that he will not sell any of his assets before the court issues a verdict, also directing him not to initiate any new Bahria Town project.
The hearing of the case was adjourned until June 27 (Today).
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