SHC denies Tessori’s request for judicial commission over Gul Plaza inferno

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday dismissed Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori’s request to constitute a judicial commission to investigate the cause of the Gul Plaza inferno, citing non-compliance with the relevant law “in letter and spirit”.

In his letter to the SHC Chief Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput on January 27th, the MQM-P leader wrote to the SHC CJ: "Request to nominate a judicial inquiry commission to investigate the Gul Plaza fire incident to dig out the root cause of this unfortunate occurrence or any negligence or violation of law that may have led to this unfortunate occurrence."

A letter was issued by the high court in response to the governor’s request to constitute a judicial inquiry regarding the incident. 

“The hon’ble chief justice was ‘pleased to record minutes that the procedure for a formal, independent inquiry into matters of public concern, typically involving the services of a judge or legal expert, is to be appointed by the government so as to establish the facts, determine blame, and make recommendations on matters involving significant public interest, as stipulated under section 3 of the Pakistan Commissions of Inquiry Act, 2017”.

However, the need to consult the head of the institution arose from the event contemplated by the inquiry, assuming that the inquiry was to be carried out by any member of that particular institution.

The letter further states that the need was generated due to the case law “reported as Abid Shahid Zuberi versus Federation of Pakistan PLD 2023 Supreme Court 493”.

Accordingly, the entreaty presented in the subject letter cannot be approved until the procedure enunciated in the above-quoted statute and cited case law is not followed in the letter and spirit,’ was mentioned in the response.

However, according to sources in the SHC, suggesting that the letter of the Sindh government, in which the government formally requested the court to nominate a sitting judge to conduct the judicial inquiry, was under consideration.

In a letter to the registrar of the Sindh High Court from CM House, it was mentioned that a cabinet sub-committee, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, deliberated upon the matter in its meeting held on Thursday. The committee discussed the situation arising out of the Gul Plaza fire incident and unanimously agreed to an independent judicial probe into the affair.

“This, for the sake of transparency, accountability and institutional learning, the sub-committee decided that the Honourable Chief Justice of the High Court of Sindh may be requested to nominate a sitting judge of the High Court to conduct a judicial inquiry into the Gul Plaza fire incident to ascertain responsibility and regulatory lapses,” it said.

It further added that the investigation would be directed towards the issue of responsibility and investigating the lapses, if any, in regulatory oversight that led to the incident, in which several people lost their lives and heavy damage was caused to the commercial building.

The CM House also asked the registrar to expedite the request, saying “an early response is solicited”.