ISLAMABAD, Mar 14 (APP): The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its verdict on the issue of a joint venture agreement between the Capital Development Authority and the Multi-Professional Cooperative Housing Society (MPCHS) to develop 54 acres of land in Sector E-11 Islamabad.The two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Ghulam Rabbani reserved its judgement after conclusion of arguments by the parties over a suo motu case.
Zulfiqar Malooka, counsel for the Society, defended the joint agreement by saying that the CDA had invited them to participate in the bidding through legal mechanism. To bench’s query, he replied that the Society invested Rs 1.8 billion after clinching the venture in a transparent manner from among seven other parties. He contended that three chairmen of CDA could not find anything wrong in the agreement. Muhammad Akram Sheikh, a senior counsel appearing as amicus curiae, had contended that the agreement was ultra vires of the CDA Ordinance and its rules and regulations.
He contended that there was not a provision in the Ordinance authorizing a private party to undertake a sectoral development. Terming it a bigger scam, he said trillions of rupees were involved in it.He claimed that owner of the Society AU Farooqi was the Cabinet Secretary when the agreement was reached. The counsel for CDA, during previous hearings, had also defended the agreement by saying that it was done in accordance with relevant laws. He had contended that the possession of the land was not handed over to the Society, which was rather were allowed to carry out development work.
