The DHA had appealed to the SC against a Lahore High Court order that the housing authority reopen two roads – one leading to the Punjab Cooperative Housing Society from Ghazi Road, and the other to Fort Villas.
On Tuesday, revenue officials presented the DHA record in the courtroom.
After examining it closely, Justice Jawad S Khawaja, one of the judges on the three-member bench, noted that the original plan showed at least 25 entry and exit points for Defence.
The court observed that the authority should address its security concerns, but could not turn Defence into a “no-go area”.
“The DHA cannot be allowed to do whatever it wants to,” said Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who heads the bench. “The law will prevail. The Supreme Court cannot go beyond the scope of the Constitution. Every citizen has a constitutional right to free movement which cannot be curbed.”
At Monday’s hearing, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday, the third member of the bench, had advised the DHA counsel to settle the matter out of court, or the bench might be forced to rule not only that the roads in question be reopened, but that all the roads envisaged in the revenue record be opened, even if it meant demolishing houses or other buildings at the locations where these roads were supposed to be.
On Tuesday, the appellant’s lawyer told the court that there were 13 entry points to DHA that residents of nearby lower income areas could use, but use of the road linking Ghazi Road to the Kamahan area was not allowed.
The chief justice asked him what law allowed the DHA to restrict people’s movement. “How it is possible that a man is permitted to use Street No 45 but at the same time is disallowed to use Street No 50?” Justice Chaudhry asked.
The counsel was silent for a while, but then responded that allowing commoners to use the roads would turn the area into places like Gowalmandi and Nisbet Road.
The comment angered the chief justice. “The real Pakistan is in Gowalmandi and Nisbet Road. DHA is not the real Pakistan,” he said.
Justice Khawaja added: “This elitist mindset needs to change. It has become the main reason for the downfall of our society. Maybe the DHA should also take over Gowalmandi.”
The DHA counsel, however, insisted that it was a private society and its roads were private property that it had exclusive rights over.
Justice Ramday pointed out that the DHA was no longer a private society, as in 1999 the military-led government introduced legislation establishing it as a public authority. All DHA roads are public thoroughfares, he said.
“DHA is not situated on an Island. It is set up in Pakistan and the rights of the citizens cannot be curtailed on the whims of an individual,” Justice Ramday continued.
The appellant’s counsel said that he was ready to negotiate with the contesting parties, after which the court adjourned the hearing for December 23.
The PCHS says that a road 60 feet wide and 300 yards long from Ghazi Road to Kamahan, passing through Sectors AA and BB of Defence, was blocked by the DHA over 20 years ago. The other respondent is Builders and Developers, which says that the DHA has not been allowing the use of a 151-yard long road leading to Fort Villas.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2010.
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