A full bench of the Supreme Court, hearing the case of high-rise buildings in the city, on Wednesday got arrested owner of Salar Plaza for not depositing Rs 50 millions, and observed that the court would not allow to flourish the culture lawlessness in the country.
Rana Naeem was fined Rs 50 million for illegal construction, but he gave a cheque, which was not honoured. The court issued him contempt notice, and directed him to deposit the amount to avoid arrest. Rana Naeem appeared before the court, but failed to deposit the amount even after the court gave him further time of an hour to deposit the amount. The court, ordering his arrest, observed that his building was constructed illegally and "we have to demolish the illegal constructions."
Old Anarkali Police present in the courtroom took Rana Naeem arrested him and took him to police station. The court, while directing his arrest, observed that while people died under the collapsed building, builders enjoyed the scene on TV. "We are the custodian of the rights of the people of Pakistan and we could not allow to flourish the culture of lawlessness in the society," the court added.
Later, the court adjourned the proceedings to be heard with the main case of high-rise buildings in the first week of October. The court during the last date of hearing ordered the Punjab government and Lahore Development Authority to submit building-wise report and recommendation about further line of action against 1,500 to 2,000 buildings built in violation of rules and regulations, besides pinpointing those buildings where illegalities could be condoned and which could not be condoned. A commission, appointed by the court, has submitted reports about these buildings.