Eight SBCA officers granted bail in building collapse case

Eight officers from the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) have been granted bail by an Additional District and Sessions Judge (South) following their arrest in connection with the recent building collapse in Lyari's Baghdadi area. Each officer was required to submit a surety bond of Rs1 million.

During the court proceedings, the judge inquired about the officers' specific roles and the duration of their postings. Defence lawyer Shahab Sarki argued that the officers had no direct involvement in the collapse and that their postings were not related to the case. He further pointed out that the building in question, constructed in 1986, had never obtained a No Objection Certificate (NOC) during its construction.

The court asked if the building had been constructed illegally, to which the defence confirmed that SBCA records did not show any such documentation. Additionally, when asked whether the building had been declared hazardous, the lawyer responded that no such notice had been issued by the SBCA.

In 2024, the SBCA had declared 722 buildings in the city as dangerous, yet utility services continued to be provided, raising concerns about systemic failures. The prosecutor presented evidence of the accused’s roles, but the defence contested that the building was not mentioned in the inquiry report, which they had not received a copy of. The report noted short tenures for key officials, including Zargham Haider (four months), Ashfaq Khokhar (nine months), Faheem Murtaza (two months), and Irfan Haider (one month). Defence lawyer Mustafa Advocate called for a thorough investigation, highlighting SBCA's weak enforcement in sensitive areas like Lyari.

In response, SBCA Director General Shahmeer Khan Bhutto issued final show-cause notices to 21 officers within the Central District, giving them a week to submit their replies.