Refund of dues to Fazaia Housing allottees: Supreme Court suspends high court’s order

KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday suspended the Sindh High Court’s order pertaining to refund of the money and liabilities to the allottees of Fazaia Housing Scheme (FHS) till further orders.

The interim order came on the application of FHS’s allottees, who had challenged the SHC’s May 19 order in the case. The SHC on May 19 had directed the chairman NationalAccountability Bureau to suspend any inquiry or investigation of the FHS after the private builder and Directorate of Estate projects had agreed to refund all the money and liabilities to the allottees within six months. The SHC had also directed chairman NAB to supervise and facilitate, the private builder and Directorate of Estate in refunding the claims of allottees in the shortest-possible time.

Being aggrieved with the SHC order, the applicants’ counsel submitted that rights of the allottees were not protected in the impugned order who had deposited huge amount in the project. He submitted that affectees have the right to claim their dues along with the mark-up of the money deposited in the project and requested the court to suspend the impugned order.

The Supreme Court’s three-member bench, headed by Justice Faisal Arab after preliminary hearing of the application, issued notices to the NAB, the private builder and the Directorate of Estate Projects and called their comments after two weeks.

Rhe private builders and Directorate of Estate Projects had filed their affidavits and agreed to refund all the money and other liabilities to the allottees of the project within six months. The NAB had informed the SHC that Fazaia Housing Scheme was launched by the Pakistan Air Force in partnership with Maxim Properties in 2015 but failed to carry out any development and hand over the plots to the allottees despite payment of millions in installments and, as a result, the public stands cheated of their finances.