A question of possession: CJP orders decisive action in land cases

Shopping centre owner to pay Rs500 million

LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar directed Syed Babar Ali Shah of Packages Industries to deposit a token amount of Rs500 million with the Supreme Court against unpaid rent on state land. The lease of the said property had expired in 2015.

A two-judge bench, led by CJP Nisar, was hearing the matter at the Supreme Court Lahore Registry while Justice Ijazul Ahsan was the other member of the bench. CJP Nisar also ruled that the land, leased out to the industry, would be put on sale through open bidding instead of the lease deed being extended.

Abdullah Malik, a social activist, had filed an application with the court. He challenged the Packages Industries’ possession of state land, measuring 231 kanals and 19 marlas despite the expiry of the lease. He complained to the court that the industry had not paid a single penny to the government against its possession and also established a shopping mall on the leased land, thus violating the law.

The counsel for Syed Babar Ali Shah told the court that the land was first given to his client in 1955 on a 30-year lease to establish an industry. The lease was extended for another 30 years in 1985, while his client’s application for further extension of the lease had been pending with the authority concerned since 2015.

To a query, the counsel told the court that the shopping mall had not been constructed on the leased land. He added it had been constructed on the purchased land of the industry.  The inordinate delay in deciding the application for lease-extension, pending with the concerned authorities, irked the CJP. The country’s top judge said those officials involved in the delay had been enabling the extended unlawful possession on the land.

On the court’s orders, the Lahore deputy commissioner and member colonies of the Board of Revenue (BoR) appeared before the court after a short interval. The member colonies told the court that the government had not made any policy to revise the leases of state land and decided to auction them instead. The bench observed that the inaction on part of the government officials caused an annual loss of Rs200 million to the national exchequer.

Syed Babar’s counsel assured the CJP that this client is ready to pay rent for the land’s possession after the expiry of lease whatever the court would determine the amount.

The CJP directed the counsel to deposit Rs.500 million with the court within a week as a token amount, while the rent would be determined by a team of banks surveyors.

Tiffi Butt land possession

Chief Justice of Pakistan Mina Saqib Nisar took a disputed property, which is currently under the control of alleged gangster Khawaja Tareef Gulshan alias ‘Tiffi Butt’, and ordered the Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory to examine its documents.

A two member SC bench, headed by CJP Nisar, was hearing a petition filed by Humaira Khawar at the Supreme Court Lahore Registry. She claimed to have been dispossessed of her property by Tiffi Butt. Justice Ijazul Ahsan was the other member of the bench. As proceedings commenced, the CJP ordered his counsel to ensure the presence of Tiffi Butt in the courtroom. After a short interval, the suspect was produced and hearing resumed. The CJP asked Tiffi his name, to which the latter replied “Tareef Butt”.

The country’s top judge informed the suspect of the application filed against him. Tiffi replied by denying the charges and saying he would relinquish any property if it was proven that he possessed it illegally.

“No one will be allowed to occupy someone’s property,” CJP Nisar told Tiffi Butt in no uncertain terms. He added that the property would go into the possession of the person who succeeded in proving ownership.

The CJP directed the petitioner to inform the court about her grievances. The petitioner said a property of three kanals and six marlas at Androon Kashiri Gate belonged to her family from 1952 to May 3,2017.

In 2012, they learnt that documents had been forged for one kanal of their property to put it in the name of one Rana Ashfaq. Later, one kanal had been transferred to several buyers. She said her family had been dispossessed by Butt of the property.

SP City Muhammad Maaz Zafar told the court that the version of the woman was correct to the extent that the property was in her family’s possession till 2017. SP Maaz disclosed that Tiffi Butt, in connivance with police officials, occupied the property.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2019.