SC serves notices in land allotment case

The Supreme Court has ordered for publication of service notices to respondents through print media about its hearing of petitions against the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) judgment that scrapped the government’s revised policy on the allotment of plots in the federal capital on subsidised rates to top judges, lawyers and bureaucrats.

The petitioners had applied for plots in sectors F14 and F15 of Islamabad and were successful in acquiring them.

The IHC judgment had declared the allotment of plots to judges, bureaucrats and government employees in the special sectors of the federal capital as “unconstitutional”.

The IHC verdict had affected six serving and several retired judges.

“The revised policy and the scheme pursuant thereto, intended to be launched in sectors F-12, G-12, F-14 and F-15, are in derogation of public interest and violative of the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the people at large. Thus they are illegal, unconstitutional, void and without jurisdiction," read a judgment authored by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Feb 3, 2021.

A three-judge special bench of the apex court, led by Justice Munib Akhtar and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Ayesha Malik, took up the petitions on Tuesday.

The allottees who were government servants were represented by Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar.

Submitting before a special bench the background of the case, he stated that almost a year has passed since the passing of judgment and added that it lacked legal jurisdiction and was based on suo motu proceedings.

He contended that the allottees were the actual victims of the protracted litigation whereas the matter for the same sectors has already been decided by SC.

The lawyer further argued that while exercising jurisdiction, the high court judicially overreached its constitutional jurisdiction and therefore, the impugned judgment of IHC was liable to be set aside.

He also requested that the actual date for the next hearing be given as the matter has been pending since 2015 as all the allottees who are now among the appellants before SC have deposited the amount in response to FGHA advertisement against their respective plot allotment applications.

The bench however ordered for publication of service notices to respondents in two national newspapers and adjourned the matter for a final hearing on March 8.