KARACHI: Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Limited, incorporated on April 01, 1953 in Pakistan as a private limited company and subsequently converted into a public limited company on January 07, 1955 is listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited. GATM is a leading textile industry fabric, home textile, and garment manufacturer contributing a significant amount of tax and employing large numbers of labour and staff.
GATM purchased land bearing Survey Number (48, 49, 50 and 51) in Deh Khanto measuring 43 acres obtained in year 2003 vide two conveyance deeds.
The previous owners request for Demarcation of the afore said land was carried out by the Revenue Authorities in the presence of all concerned parties including a representative of Pakistan Railways.
After a series of litigation, the matter attained finality vide Judgment Dated 27.05.2002 passed by honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan, a formal sale agreement dated 31-01-2003 was executed between the lawful owners and GATM. Subsequently, the entire land comprising Survey No. 48, 49, 50 and 51) Deh Khanto Bin Qasim Town was purchased by GATM.
All relevant Documents including Conveyance Deeds, Fresh Form VII are in the favour of GATM. GATM are in lawful possession of the land compounded with boundary wall and being used for storage of cotton and the cotton is supplied to all units of GATM.
Documents:
Judgment in suit No. 248 of 1994 passed by 1SCJ Karachi (East) dated 09.08.1994.
Judgment of CA No. 07 of 1996 passed by Vth ADJ Karachi (East) dated-24.02.1998.
Judgment in Civil Revision 232 of 1998 passed by High Court of Sindh 25.05.2001.
Judgment of CPLA 2196 of 2001 passed by Supreme Court of Pakistan dated 27.05.2002.
Demarcation Letter dated 12.12.2002
Two Registered Conveyance Deed between Previous Owners and GATM
The Judgment of the honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan attained the finality between previous owners and Pakistan Railways, which has never been rebutted in past 18 years.
Prior to entering into our premises no notice or intimation was given to GATM by Pakistan Railway Police. Suddenly on 03.01.2021 (Sunday, which is a holiday) at about 1330 hours, around 30 to 40 armed guards of Pakistan Railway police unlawfully trespassed onto the premises and created a hostile environment. This highhandedness and thuggery by the Pakistan Railways is unacceptable and they need to be held accountable.
There is no impediment on Pakistan Railways track which is a fair distance away from our property boundary wall. However, Pakistan Railways is not only forcibly trying to occupy our land, it has also unlawfully stopped the movement of our raw materials to the rest of our units. Due to this, our operations have been severely impacted causing loss of revenue (loss of exports leading to a loss in the balance of payments), which will in turn lead to unemployment and ultimately factory closures and reputational damage to GATM and Pakistan.
This one-sided mala fide illegal activity was intentionally initiated on a Sunday where no legal recourse would be possible and continues to date.
A suit Bearing No. 23 of 2021 Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Limited versus Federation of Pakistan (Through Ministry of Railways) is filed before the High Court of Sindh which was fixed for hearing 08.01.2021 where a false statement was submitted by Pakistan Railways that they have taken possession on 03.01.2021 which was disputed by GATM. It is on record at the Court. Case is set for hearing on 11.01.2021.
Now Railway Police have once again forcibly trespassed on our premises on January 8, 2021 threatening our security at gun point who under the threat of life have let them enter. All this was done just to make their false statement true before the court. The illegal action of Railway still continues. The Railways Police took an unwarranted approach whereby they resorted to aerial firing and shelling of tear gas on our employees. Furthermore, they used sticks to beat our employees. Half a dozen of our employees had to be hospitalized due to the severity of the physical brutality carried out by the Railways Police. There were dozens of employees injured who managed to limp away after the incident today.
We have requested the Honourable Governor of Sindh to request the Railway Minister to unseal the property and let us resume business as usual and let the courts decide on the land matter. We are one of the largest and oldest companies of Pakistan who have contributed to the economic growth of this nation since 1953. What message does this send to the entire business community when one of the most reputable companies of the nation can be victimized and persecuted for no fault of their own, especially when this matter is in the process of being decided by a court of law.—PR
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
Comments
Comments are closed.