Find a Lawyer

Civil Appeal No. 137 of 1 "83, decided on 12th March, 1984.

(On appeal from the judgment of Lahore High Court dated 27‑9‑1980 in Writ petition No. 663 of 1976).

‑‑ Arts. 185 (3) & 1,39‑Writnpetition‑Aggrieved party‑High Court holding that petitioner was not an aggrieved party and on such ground dismissing writ petition in limine‑Leave to appeal granted to examine whether approach of High Court was correct.

---Art. 199‑Writ petition‑Aggrieved party ‑ Land reforms ‑Appellant‑purchasers of land in dispute not accepted and adjusted for purposes of land reforms by Federal Land Commission‑Contention that seller had not agreed to surrender other land in lieu of sold land on plea that land was genuinely sold and fell within permissible category of alienations ‑Seller formally made respondent in writ petition contents whereof indicating that he was also an aggrieved party and could be transferred as a petitioner‑Field, petitioner appellants were aggrieved party in circumstances of case‑Case remanded.

Mst. Raj Bibi and 4 others v. Additional Chief Land Commissioner, Punjab, Lahore and 2 others P L D 1975 Lab. 408 ref.

Ch. Aziz Ahmad, Advocate Supreme Court and Hameed Aslam Qureshi, Advocate‑on‑Record for Appellant.

Ch. Akhtar Ali for Respondent.

Date of hearing : 12th March 1984.

This appeal through special leave of this Court is directed against judgment dated 27‑9‑1980 of the Lahore High Court ‑whereby a Constitutional petition arising out of a land reforms case was dismissed on the ground that the petitioners before the High Court (appellants Nos. 1 to 12 herein) were not aggrieved party.

The said appellant claming to be purchasers of land from appellant No. 13 (in the High Court as respondent No. 2 with Chairman, Federal Land Commission as respondent No. 1) had challenged the orders of the Federal Land Commission whereby the said purchasers were not accepted and adjusted for the purpose of Land Reforms. A learned Single Judge of the High Court relying on some observations of the same High Court in a Division Bench judgment Mst. Raj Bibi and 4 others v. Additional Chief Land, Commissioner, Punjab, Lahore and 2 others (P L D 1975 Lah. 408) held that the seller (appellant No. 13), not having denied the sales in question, the purchasers writ petitioners were not aggrieved party. Accordingly without going into the merits of the case, the petition was dismissed in limine. Leave was granted to examine whether the approach of the High Court was correct.

Learned counsel relying on the same judgment, contended that the merits in that case were examined in the context of the purchasers' plea and they were given relief. Moreover it is also contended that the seller in this case had not agreed that he would surrender other land in lieu of the sold land because as pleaded by him it was genuinely sold and that it fell within the permissible category of alienations.

In addition to the above submission we have noted that although the seller was formally made a respondent in writ petition the contents thereof indicated that he was also an aggrieved party and could on his request be transposed as a petitioner, for which a formal request has also been made during the hearing of this appeal, which we have allowed.

After hearing the learned counsel for all the concerned parties we feel satisfied that even according to the dictum in Mst. Raj Bibi's case all the appellants herein are aggrieved party. Accordingly this appeal is allowed. The impugned order is set aside and the matter is remanded for decision on the merits to the High Court. In the circumstances of the case the appellants not having requested the High Court for the transposition allowed in this ‑‑‑, Court, they shall pay the costs of the respondent in the High Court as also in this Court, which as agreed by the learned counsel for the parties are fixed at Rs. 5,000. The remand order is conditional on prior payment of the said costs.

S .Q . Case remanded.

Find a Lawyer Near You

Dealing with a matter like this? Connect with a verified advocate in your city — free on SJP Lawyers Directory.