LHC Questions Legality of Property Possession Actions Under Ordinance

Lahore: The Lahore High Court (LHC) held hearings on petitions challenging actions taken under the Property Ownership Ordinance and directed that the cases be placed before a full bench for further proceedings.

Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Justice Aalia Neelum, heard petitions including one filed by Mushtaq Ahmed and other petitioners.

During the hearing, Chief Justice Aalia Neelum remarked that the law clearly states that if a matter is pending in a civil court, the Deputy Commissioner should file a request in the relevant court, and the civil court is then obliged to forward the case to the tribunal. She asked the government counsel whether this legal procedure was being followed.

The Chief Justice questioned how possession was being taken verbally without any written orders, and added that even if a court gave verbal instructions, how could such orders be enforced. She emphasized that every party would insist on seeing a formal order before taking action.

The court also asked whether tribunals had issued verbal directives and whether they had officially started functioning. Chief Justice Neelum pointed out that almost two and a half months after the notification of tribunals, they had not yet begun operations, staff was not in place, and it was unclear where the tribunals would sit.

Read more: Punjab Property Ownership Ordinance Stayed by LHC

She raised concerns about potential overreach and misuse of powers, noting that the law should clearly specify how actions are to be taken when petitions are filed, which the current ordinance does not.

The Chief Justice questioned under what authority committees were enforcing possession, stressing that according to the law, tribunals can only order possession after completing their proceedings. She highlighted that committees instructing officials to enforce possession was not legally valid.