SC stays anti-encroachment operation at Miani Sahib graveyard

Top court notes that the ownership of the land was never claimed

LAHORE: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed till further order an anti-encroachment drive being carried out by authorities at Lahore’s Miani Sahib Graveyard.

A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Maqbool Baqar, heard a plea moved by the aggrieved ‘Faqeer family’. The court observed that the land was in possession of the family since centuries and no one had claimed its ownership till date.

Counsel for the aggrieved party, Hamid Khan, told the bench that it was an inherited land which was transferred to ‘Faqeer family’ from their elders.  He said the LDA demolished boundary wall of a private graveyard, violating rules and regulations.

Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik, a member of the bench, asked about the date when the land was allotted to the family. Responding to the query, Khan said the land was not allotted to his client as it was inherited and showed a trust deed signed in this regard in 1848.

The bench observed that the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) demolished the graveyard's boundary wall without prior notice to the concerned party.

Subsequently, the bench issued notices to the Miani Sahib Graveyard Committee Lahore and the LDA to appear before the bench and present their point of view.  The bench also halted operation in Miani Sahib till further order and adjourned further hearing of the case.