LHC sets aside ex parte rent rulings

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has set aside ex parte judgments of two subordinate courts in a rent dispute, ruling that failure to follow the mandatory legal procedure before initiating such proceedings renders the trial and the resulting judgment unlawful.

In a detailed judgment, Justice Muzammil Akhtar Shabbir allowed a petition against the decisions of a Rent Tribunal and appellate court, declaring that the ruling would serve as a judicial precedent.

The court observed that "delay in justice amounts to denial of justice, while haste in dispensing justice is tantamount to burying justice."

The judgment held that under the rent law, a respondent must be given 10 days before ex parte proceedings can be initiated, and the respondent is legally entitled to seek restoration of the right to contest the case within the period.

The court ruled that if ex parte proceedings are initiated in violation of the prescribed legal procedure, they become illegal and any judgment based on them is liable to be set aside. Justice Shabbir held that the tribunal had failed to comply with the statutory procedure governing ex parte proceedings and unlawfully dismissed the petitioner's application seeking permission to contest the case.

Setting aside the judgments, the LHC remanded the matter to the trial court, directing it to treat the case as pending and decide it on merits within four months.

The court also ordered that no adjournment request from either side should be entertained during the trial and emphasised that Rent Tribunals must ensure proper serving of notice before resorting to ex parte proceedings.