ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court (SC) Registrar Dr Faqir Hussain has reaped benefits to the tune of over Rs 7,207,000 in the purchase and sale deals of plots in Bahria Town (BT).
He is stated to have struck the purchase and sale deals of four properties with the Bahria Town’s management, including two Awami villas, one plot of two kanals and one eight-marla double storey house.The SC registrar started his contact moves with the Bahria Town management from September 2004, when he was working as secretary at the Law and Justice Commission in the SC building. Attracted by advertisement in a news paper, he dispatched an application on official letterhead to the Bahria Town management on September, 18, 2004, requesting for allotment of one kanal plot in the “Bureaucrats Enclave”.
He further requested that he, as a Phd degree holder and author of several books who had carried out a good number of research works inside and outside the country and having discharged his obligations in terms of legal and judicial reforms, be allowed a 50 percent rebate in the allotment of the plot due to the services rendered by him. Dr Faqir Hussain had also mentioned the services performed by him in the United Nations to seek benefit.He was informed by the Bahria Town management that his request had been acceded to. At that time, he had relinquished the office of the Law and Justice commission and had been appointed as the SC registrar.
On September 19, 2005, Dr Faqir Hussain wrote a letter to the Bahria Town management on SC’s letterhead that the said concession was meant for judges and the SC’s registrar therefore, he was going to deposit a sum of Rs 150,000 as first instalment.Later, the Bahria Town management converted his 500-yard plot (one kanal) to 1000-yard plot (two kanals) and sent the information in this regard to him on August 21, 2006. This plot was allotted in Club City, and a letter in this respect was issued on January 10, 2008.Following this development, Dr Faqir Hussain sent a letter to the Bahria Town management, seeking rescheduling of the payment of remaining instalments on the plea that property crisis was brewing and he could not deposit the remaining amount in the prevailing situation.
He sought one year’s time to pay his instalments. He also requested the management in the same letter that his plot bearing No 130 Street No 1 be transferred to any other street close to a park, for example: plot No 137 or 153 at street No 4.The Bahria Town management informed him on December 2, 2008, that his request had been accepted in connection with the payment of the remaining amount, asking him to make this payment until December 30, 2009. The management remitted the remaining six instalments when the SC and Bahria Town tension started in July 2012, and 50 percent wavier was allowed in writing on surcharge report.
As per Bahria Town management’s report, Dr Faqir Hussain was provided a benefit of Rs 3,523,000 through conversion of his plot from one kanal to two kanals.Later, the SC registrar applied for allotment of a plot in another housing scheme of Bahria Town called Awami Villas on April 5, 2006.The Bahria Town administration informed him through a letter on November 6, 2009 that under the directives of the Bahria Town chairman, orders had been issued for allotment and handing over of possession of two Awami villas bearing No AWR-05022 and AWR-12566 to him. One was allotted under No 125 in street No 53 and the second was allotted under No 170 in street No 52.
The SC registrar sold out this villa to a man named Faisal Sarwar under a deal dated December 21, 2009, while he had purchased the villa from the Bahria Town at a cost of Rs 508,100. The Bahria Town had launched this scheme for quake affectees. He purchased the two plots from Bahria Town and later sold them back to Bahria Town, harvesting profits of Rs 1,241,000 and Rs 1,242,000 respectively.Likewise, he purchased a double-storey eight-marla house in Bahria Town in 2007. Bahria Town had fixed its price at Rs 5,299,000 but it received Rs 4,098,000, giving a benefit of Rs 1,210,000 to the SC registrar.
When contacted, Dr Faqir Hussain said that his counsel Gul Hassan Aurangzeb be approached to ascertain his stance. His counsel said that the reply in this regard had been filed in the court, adding that his client had purchased two plots which were not gifted to him. He said that thousands of people had invested in Bahria Town, and the SC registrar was no exception. He said the registrar had purchased the plots to make an investment, and that he would tell about the remaining things in the court.
