Gul Plaza blaze: Plea filed in SHC seeking criminal, departmental proceedings against responsible officials

KARACHI: A petition was filed in the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday, seeking the initiation of “criminal, departmental and contempt proceedings” against officials found responsible for the Gul Plaza fire.

The fire, which erupted late on Saturday night, raged for almost 24 hours before it was doused. The death toll from the inferno rose to over 20 today from six reported on Sunday as rescue workers continued a search operation for several persons reported missing following the incident.

Meanwhile, a lawyer, Advocate Saleem Michael, and a resident of Karachi, Muhammad Haris, filed a plea in the SHC, stating that the “tragedy was not an unavoidable accident but a direct consequence of gross negligence, failure of inspection, nonenforcement of safety laws, and maladministration by the respondents who are legally bound to ensure building and fire safety”.

The Sindh government, Sindh Building Control Authority, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Karachi’s chief fire officer, the Sindh Emergency Rescue Service director general, South district deputy commissioner and director general of civil defence at the home department have been named as respondents in the plea.

The plea, seen by Dawn, has been filed “in public interest on behalf of affected citizens, traders, shopkeepers and victims of the Gul Plaza fire incident”.

It referred to an SHC order dated December 8, 2020, relating to public safety, fire prevention and protection of human life.

The petition recalled that in the 2020 order, the SHC had directed that the availability and functionality of fire tenders within a stipulated timeframe be ensured and fire emergency helpline 16 be maintained, activated and made fully operational.

The court had also issued directives for “constituting and operationalising divisional, district and sub-divisional task forces with defined inspection mechanisms, mandatory meetings, random inspections, complaint redressal within 48 hours and strict enforcement of fire safety laws”.

The petitioner contended that the respondents in their plea, who were public office-holders, were “expressly bound to comply with the clear, mandatory and continuing directions” issued by the SHC in its 2020 order.

“The directions were neither advisory nor directory, but mandatory in nature, involving issues of fundamental rights, protection of life and dignity of citizens, and constitutional obligations of the state under Articles 9 and 14 of the Constitution,” the petition said.

It added that despite a passage of more than four years, the respondents “have willfully, deliberately and contumaciously failed to implement the aforesaid directions in their true spirit”.

“The so-called task forces exist largely on paper only; inspections remain sporadic, reports are not acted upon, and enforcement against violators is virtually non-existent,” the plea alleged.

It added: “The recent tragic fire incident at Gul Plaza, Karachi, resulting in loss of precious human lives, serious injuries to several persons and devastating financial losses to shopkeepers, stands as a living indictment of the respondents’ continued defiance, disregard and non-compliance of the binding order dated December 8, 2020.”

The petitioners pled that the court declare that the Gul Plaza incident occurred “due to negligence, maladministration and failure of statutory duties by the respondents”.

They further sought the court’s directions for the respondents to initiate criminal, departmental and contempt proceedings against responsible officials.

Moreover, they requested the court to order the suspension of negligent officers pending an independent inquiry and issue directives for the payment of “adequate compensation to the families of deceased victims under the principle of state liability”

They also sought directions for the payment of “state-funded compensation” to traders and shopkeepers for their financial losses.

The petitioners further urged the court to order a judicial or independent technical inquiry into fire safety compliance at commercial buildings across Karachi.

Moreover, the court was requested to issue directives for the “strict enforcement” of the Sindh Fire Safety Act, 2016 and building laws to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies.

The petitioners also requested the court to direct the respondents to submit compliance and inspection reports pertaining to Gul Plaza.

They further sought court directions for the attachment of the property in question, Gul Plaza, until the “finalisation of the dispute of settlement/ compensation [payment] to the lawful owners/ renters (stock owners)”.

They also requested the court to “restrain respondents from concealing or destroying relevant records”.