Orange Line Project: Land Acquisition Act challenged

The petitioner requested the court to stop the government from forcibly acquiring her land for the project

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday issued a notice to the government on a petition challenging various articles of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. A division bench, headed by Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh, directed the office of the advocate general to file a reply on behalf of the government until December 7. The court issued the order on a petition filed by Seemi Arif, a citizen. She stated that the government was acquiring land for the Orange Line Project without fulfilling the procedural requirements. “They have acquired land from many people by issuing a notification. They are forcing them to vacate their land. The government cannot infringe this right. Various sections of the Lad Acquisition Act are in conflict with certain articles of the Constitution,” she stated. She requested the court to stop the government from forcibly acquiring her land for the project.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2015.