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Civil Petition for

Special Leave to Appeal No. 201‑R of 1981, decided on 7th December, 1981.

(On appeal from the judgment and order‑of the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, Rawalpindi, dated 31‑10‑1981 in Writ Petition No.356 of 1981).

Constitution

of Pakistan (1973)‑‑

‑‑‑Art. 185(3)‑‑Punjab Acquisition of Land (Housing) Act (III of 1973), S. 3 read with President's directive, dated 26‑8‑1981‑‑Acquisition of land by Provincial Governor‑‑Area falling both in Provincial and Federal territories‑‑President's directive to draw boundary of Federal Capital territory afresh to include more areas in Federal Territory‑‑Writ petition challenging acquisition of land dismissed for want of any notification of Capital Development Authority declaring any part of specified area to be part of Capital territory‑‑Order impugned‑‑Leave to appeal granted to consider inter alia whether in context of President's directive, said land could be acquired under Provincial Law.

Bashir Ahmad Ansari, Advocate with Akhtar Ali, Advocate‑on- Record for Petitioners.

Rashid Aziz, Additional Advocate‑General, Punjab for Respondents.

Date of hearing: 7th December, 1981.

. ‑‑By section 3 of the Punjab Acquisition of Land (Housing) Act, 1973, the Governor of Punjab accorded his approval to the Area Development Scheme No. II for Low Income Housing at Rawalpindi (for Pakistanis living abroad) and thereby acquired 50 Acres of land situate in village Gangal under Notification No. S.O. (P) H & PP‑7‑9/76, dated 18th of May, 1981, and earmarked for this scheme. The area of this village fell partly in Rawalpindi and partly in Islamabad districts. The President, under his directive, dated 26th of August, 1981, directed that the boundary of the Federal Capital Territory should be drawn afresh to facilitate administrative arrangements and development work in 52 villages including village Gangal which would form part of the Federal Territory and that further laws were to be amended accordingly. The petitioners felt aggrieved by the acquisition of the land and filed a Writ Petition No. 356 of 1981 in the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, but did not succeed as the High Court held that in the absence of any Notification under section 3 of the Capital Development Authority Ordinance, 1960, declaring any part of the specified area to be a part of the Capital Territory no legal objection to the acquisition of land could be made. In the context of the President's directive, it is a matter for consideration as to whether the said land can be acquired under the Provincial Law. This and the other grounds raised in the petition require examination.

Accordingly, we would grant leave to appeal to the petitioners. Security for costs Rs.2,000. In the meantime interim order to continue subject, however, to the issuance of any fresh order under any other law. The appeal arising out of this petition should be heard on the present record with liberty to the parties to file additional documents, if any.

M.I. Leave granted.

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