Royal Palm dispute: Petitioner asked to conclude arguments today

Club administration should not have been forced to leave the club without a valid court order: Counsel for petitioner

LAHORE: Lahore High Court on Thursday directed counsel for petitioners seeking FIRs against Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and others to conclude their arguments by Friday (today).

The petition had been moved by the Royal Palm Club management. The petition said a sessions court had not ordered police to register an FIR on their application against the minister and other railway officials.

On July 4, the court had granted interim permission to the club administration to manage its services without disturbing possession of Pakistan Railways.

On Thursday, SCBA president Barrister Syed Ali Zafar and Senator Aitezaz Ahsan appeared in the court on behalf of the petitioners.

Zafar argued that the Royal Palm contract contained clause which said that in case of a dispute between the parties, the government had to first serve a notice. “If the dispute is not settled amicably, then three arbitrators would be called to resolve it.”

The petitioner’s counsel said the railways minister and senior department officials had wanted to take over the facility.

“He wants to use this as his personal fiefdom and is not ready to wait for 49 years for the lease to expire,” he said.

He said the minister had ignored rules and had not sought special permission to evict the petitioner from the club.

The counsel said the club had been running since 2001 under a lease agreement between Royal Palm and Pakistan Railways, known as Implementation Agreement July 26, 2001.

He said railway authorities had violated the agreement and caused a huge loss to the club.

“The petitioner should not have been forced to leave the club without a valid court order,” he said.

He said the minister stood violation of Article 4 and 10-A of the Constitution. Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza directed the petitioner’s counsel to conclude his arguments on Friday (today).

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2016.