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A local court has granted bail to eight officers of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) arrested following the Lyari building collapse that killed 27 people earlier this month.
The Additional District and Sessions Judge South approved the bail on Monday, directing each accused officer to submit surety bonds worth Rs 1 million.
The court observed that weak legal provisions were applied in the case and also instructed the Sindh government to arrange alternate accommodation for the victims.
The five-storey building in Karachi’s Baghdadi area of Lyari collapsed, claiming the lives of 27 residents and injuring several others.
In response, the Sindh Chief Minister dismissed the SBCA Director General and ordered legal action against the building owner and 12 SBCA officials.
Following the tragedy, authorities decided to demolish 51 buildings classified as dangerous across Karachi, including in Lyari.
The demolition drive is currently underway. The Sindh government has pledged to provide three months’ rent compensation to both tenants and owners of the condemned buildings.
The court’s remarks suggest the case may face legal complications due to the lack of stronger charges against the arrested officers.
Earlier to this, the Investigating Officer (IO) Zahid Hussain Shah produced the 10 suspects before Judicial Magistrate (South) Kalsoom Mustafa Sahto and sought an extension in their physical remand for another 11 days.
According to the FIR, the five-storey building was constructed in two sections, both of which had been in a dilapidated and uninhabitable condition for a significant period. One of these sections, containing 20 apartments, collapsed on July 4 due to what has been described as the “criminal negligence” of officials from the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and the building’s owner.
The FIR states that SBCA officials were aware of the building’s deteriorating condition for years leading up to the collapse, yet failed to take any action. It accuses them of “gross negligence and carelessness” and of deliberately omitting the building’s unsafe status from official records.
Furthermore, the FIR alleges that the current owner, along with other unidentified owners, also knew the structure was unfit for human habitation.
Despite this knowledge, they rented out several apartments—primarily to members of the Hindu community—thereby further demonstrating their negligence.
