KARACHI: A petition was filed in the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday seeking criminal, departmental, and contempt proceedings against officials allegedly responsible for the Gul Plaza fire, citing negligence and failure to enforce fire and building safety regulations.
The petition was filed by Advocate Saleem Michael and Muhammad Haris, who named the Sindh government, the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), chief fire officer, director general of the Sindh Emergency Rescue Service, South deputy commissioner, and director general of civil defence as respondents.
According to the petition, the Gul Plaza fire was “not an unavoidable accident” but the result of gross negligence, lack of inspections, non-enforcement of safety laws, and maladministration by the concerned authorities. The petitioners argued that the respondents were legally bound to ensure compliance with building and fire safety standards but failed to discharge their statutory duties.
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The petition referred to a Sindh High Court order issued in 2020 regarding public safety, fire prevention, and the protection of human life. It stated that despite the lapse of more than four years, the respondents had “wilfully, deliberately and contumaciously failed” to implement the court’s directions.
The petitioners requested the court to declare that the Gul Plaza incident occurred due to negligence, maladministration, and failure of statutory obligations on the part of the respondents. They also sought directions for initiating criminal, departmental, and contempt proceedings against officials found responsible for the alleged lapses.
The petitioners pleaded that the court declare that the Gul Plaza incident occurred “due to negligence, maladministration and failure of statutory duties by the respondents”.https://t.co/nVPGC0Yam4
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In addition, the petition urged the SHC to order a judicial or independent technical inquiry into fire safety compliance in commercial buildings across Karachi, aiming to assess enforcement mechanisms and prevent similar incidents in the future.
The court has yet to fix a date for hearing of the petition.
