Parties summoned in court to verify compromise on six labourers' death in lift fall.

Byline: Naeem Sahoutara

KARACHI -- A sessions' court has summoned the parties to verify an out-of-court compromise reached between them in a case pertaining to the death of six labourers after a construction lift buckled in Clifton.

The victims, including two brothers, had died after falling from an under-construction high-rise building in Block 7 of Clifton on March 9.

The builder, Mohammad Amin Patel of M/s Land Mark Enterprises, his partners in the under-construction project Abdul Aziz Memon, Mohammad Munir Memon and Ameer Ali, two contractors Irfan-ur-Rehman and Moosa Iqbal and an engineer Khalil Ahmed were booked in the case registered under Sections 322 (manslaughter) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Boat Basin police station.

When the matter came up before the additional district and sessions' judge concerned recently, the suspects appAeared before the court on bail.

The investigating officer filed a police report regarding the deceased persons and their legal heirs as ordered by the court on the last date.

The IO also filed a separate report of Nadra regarding CNICs and family registration certificates (FRCs) of the deceased.

The court was also informed that a notice to the public at large was also published in a newspaper on Dec 13 in compliance with the court's directive.

Therefore, the judge fixed the matter for hearing on the compromise applications and personally summoned the deceased labourers' legal heirs and the suspects to verify before the court the compromise purportedly arrived between them in the present case.

Earlier, the counsel for the victims' legal heirs had moved an application under Section 345(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, mentioning that they had pardoned the suspects without any fear or pressure in the name of the Almighty and had no objection if the suspects were discharged in the present case.

The defence counsel for the suspects also filed applications under Section 345(6) of the CrPC, mentioning that their clients had reached an out-of-court settlement with the legal heirs of the deceased labourers, who had no objection if they were discharged in the present case.

Therefore, the defence counsel pleaded to the court to accept the compromise between the parties as it was permissible under the law.

The victims were reportedly fixing glasses on the upper floors of the 23-storey building, when the lift buckled.

Five of them - Abdul Rehman, 30; Mohammed Asad, 21; Faisal Islam, 32...