Historic Ferozsons store: Beneficiaries take possession of tattered structure

Major portion of Ghulam Rasool building lies in ruins

LAHORE: The Ghulam Rasool Building, once a playground for the greatest literary figures of the subcontinent, has been vacated by Ferozsons after a legal battle spanning six years. However, a major portion of the structure lies in tatters.

A legal battle over the more than two kanal property started on January 1, 2011. The beneficiaries of Ghulam Rasool Waqf asked Ferozsons to increase the rent of the premises from Rs44,704 per month to Rs3 million, in addition to Rs10 million in security.

However, Ferozsons claimed the beneficiaries did not have a claim to the rent as there was no legal agreement between the two parties. Ghulam Rasool Waqf is a trust that has owned the properties of late Chaudhry Ghulam Rasool Tarar since October 29, 1917. The four main beneficiaries are Chaudhry Muhammad Akram, Chaudhry Zahid Moyene Najmi, Dr Awais Kamal and Amir Hadi Khan.

The beneficiaries filed a petition before the court of special judge rent on October 20, 2011, seeking the evacuation of the Ferozsons bookstore. The petitioners argued that the respondent was a private limited company making large profits by printing, publishing and selling books.

They added that the respondent had also opened and was running an office for the Consulate General of Spain on the property. The trust argued that Ferozsons would conduct interviews of visa candidates and charge handsome from both ends. It added the publisher had opened five outlets in the city and was paying rents in millions. It contended that the present rate for the rented portion of the Ghulam Rasool building was insufficient.

In its reply, Ferozsons argued that Waqf was a separate legal entity and was separate from its beneficiaries. “The petition has been filed by some supposed beneficiaries of the said Waqf; therefore, the same is liable to be dismissed on this score only”. It added there was no written tenancy agreement between the parties and the respondent is not liable to pay the proposed rent.

The judge decided the case in favour of the beneficiaries of Ghulam Rasool Waqf and ordered Ferozsons to vacate the property within four months. “The petitioners are also entitled to recover rent arrears since January 1, 2011 at Rs45,000 till the eviction of the premises,” the judgment ordered.

Ferozsons challenged the decision of the rent controller before the court of an additional district and sessions judge, but it was dismissed on April 8, 2014. Aggrieved by the order, Ferozsons challenged it before the Lahore High Court (LHC). Justice Muhammad Farrukh Irfan also dismissed the petition of Ferozsons on May 20, 2016.

The beneficiaries moved the court of special judge rent for execution of the judgment and take possession of the property. The judge, on January 18, 2017, deputed a bailiff and ordered the official to break open the doors and locks of the property with police assistance. The objective was to take possession and hand the bookstore to the beneficiary.

After a long legal battle, the beneficiaries of Ghulam Rasool Waqf finally took possession of their property. However, the historic structure remains in a dismissal state and was not repaired after a fire that engulfed it in 2012.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2017.