KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday declined Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori’s request to constitute a judicial commission to investigate the deadly Gul Plaza fire, citing non-compliance with the relevant law and settled case law “in letter and spirit”.
In a letter addressed to SHC Chief Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput on January 27, the governor — an MQM-P leader — had sought the formation of a judicial inquiry commission to probe the inferno and determine its root causes, alleged negligence and possible violations of law.
In response, the high court issued a letter on January 28, explaining that under Section 3 of the Pakistan Commissions of Inquiry Act, 2017, the authority to constitute a formal, independent inquiry commission rests with the government. Such commissions, the letter noted, are meant to establish facts, fix responsibility and make recommendations in matters of public importance.
The court further clarified that consultation with the head of an institution becomes relevant only when an inquiry is to be conducted by a member of that institution, referring to the Supreme Court judgment in Abid Shahid Zuberi versus Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2023 SC 493).
“Accordingly, the entreaty made in the subject letter cannot be approved until the procedure enunciated in the above-quoted statute and cited case law is followed in letter and spirit,” the SHC response stated.
However, official sources at the SHC told media that a separate letter from the Sindh government — formally requesting the court to nominate a sitting judge to conduct a judicial inquiry — was currently under consideration.
According to correspondence from the CM House to the SHC registrar, a cabinet sub-committee headed by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah reviewed the matter during its meeting on January 29 and concluded that an independent judicial probe was necessary.
“To ensure transparency, accountability and institutional learning, the sub-committee decided that the honourable chief justice of the High Court of Sindh may be requested to nominate a sitting judge to conduct a judicial inquiry into the Gul Plaza fire incident,” the letter said.
It added that the inquiry would focus on fixing responsibility and identifying regulatory lapses linked to the incident, which claimed dozens of lives and caused massive damage to the commercial building. The CM House also urged the registrar to process the request expeditiously.
The Gul Plaza inferno, which broke out on the night of January 17 and took nearly two days to extinguish, claimed at least 73 lives and destroyed more than 1,100 shops.
Governor Tessori’s request came amid mounting opposition demands for an inquiry commission following preliminary findings suggesting that the fire may have been caused accidentally by the minor son of a flower shop owner.
