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Civil Petition No. 482 of 1977, decided on 4th November, 1981.

(On appeal from the judgment, dated 16‑5‑1977 of the Lahore High Court; Lahore in Settlement Appeal No. 1 of 1969).

Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act (XXVIII of 1958)‑--

‑‑ Sched.‑Transfer of property‑Petitioners unsuccessfully trying to get property transferred against their verified claims‑Held, estopped to turn round and assert that such property was evacuee trust property.

Malik Gulnawaz Ahmad Khan, Advocate Supreme Court and Iqbal Ahmad Qureshi, Advocate‑on‑Record (absent) for Petitioners.

Ch. Khurshid Ahmad, Advocate Supreme Court and Mehdi Khan Mehdi, Advocate‑on‑Record for Respondents Nos. 2‑7.

Fazle Hussain, Advocate‑on‑Record for Respondent No. 1.

Date of hearing : 4th November, 1981.

This is a petition for leave to appeal directed against the order dated 10‑7‑1976 dismissing the Settlement Appeal (No. 1 of 1969) directed against the order dated 30‑9‑1968 passed by the Settlement Commissioner, Lahore, with powers of Chief Settlement Commissioner under section 4(3) of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1958.

The petitioners are occupants of a part of the property bearing No. E/459‑A, Shahalam Gate, Lahore, as an evacuee trust property being owned by R. B. Lachman Dass Free Hospital. The portion in dispute was transferred to respondents 3‑7 as an evacuee property. The petitioners are tenants of this property and assert that the property was evacuee trust property and was not therefore transferable to the respondents.

The High Court in its impugned order has held that the petitioners being tenants of the property have no locus standi to initiate the proceedings for the purpose of declaring the property as evacuee trust property. It was further observed that the petitioners in the first instance had themselves tried to get the property transferred against their verified claims by submitting applications for transfer, but were unsuccessful and had now turned round and started to assert that it was evacuee trust property. In view of their conduct they were estopped from doing so.

Both Mr. Gulzar Hassan for the petitioners and Ch. Fazal‑i‑Hussain for the Evacuee Trust Board attempted to argue that there was massive documentary evidence to show that the property was evacuee trust property and, therefore, the High Court has erred in refusing to interfere.

We do not agree. The High Court was right in holding that the petitioners had no locus standi to prefer the appeal which was liable to be dismissed on that short ground. But so far as the merits are concerned we would not like to express any opinion on the point.

'Since no ground for interference with the order of the High Court dismissing the appeal on the ground of locus standi is made out, this petition must fail and is hereby dismissed.

Petition dismissed.

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