Supreme Court fixes plea against RUDA verdict for Jan 31

Court says petitions can only be heard after detailed decision of the LHC is received

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court on Thursday fixed the Punjab government’s plea against the Lahore High Court (LHC) verdict in the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project (RRUDP) case for January 31.

The PTI-led Punjab government on Wednesday approached the top court seeking the suspension of the LHC’s January 25 order, which had declared the project as illegal and ‘unconstitutional’.

A division bench of the SC, led by Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, took up the matter earlier today (Thursday) and ordered the top court’s Registrar's Office to fix the appeal for the hearing next week.

"We have not received a detailed decision of Lahore High Court," Justice Ijaz said, mentioning that petitions can only be heard after a detailed decision of the LHC is received.

Read: "LHC declares Ravi riverfront project ‘unconstitutional’"

Earlier this week, the LHC announced its verdict in the RRUDP project case, declaring the scheme “unconstitutional” on the grounds that it lacked a master plan.

“Any scheme if established without [a] master plan is unconstitutional,” Justice Shahid Karim said, directing the RUDA to return the loans obtained from the provincial government for the project within two months.

The court noted that proper procedure was not adopted in purchasing agricultural land for the Ravi Urban Development project in Lahore and Sheikhupura, therefore, it declared the practice of acquiring the land through amendment in Section 4 of the RUDA Ordinance “unconstitutional”.