Touseef Shahzad vs Commissioner etc.

Form No.HCJD/C-121

ORDER SHEET

IN THE LAHORE HIGH COURT, MULTAN BENCH,

MULTAN.

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT

Writ Petition No.5214 of 2026

Touseef Shahzad Versus Commissioner, Multan Division, Multan etc.

Sr.No. of Date of Order with signatures of Judge and that of parties Order/ Order/ or counsel, where necessary. Proceeding Proceeding

04.05.2026 Maher Muhammad Shahzad Sial, Advocate for the petitioner.

Kunwar Sajid Ali, AAG.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that Shahab Din son of Bhana (grandfather of the petitioner) got evacuee land measuring 03-Kanals comprising Khasra No.11/4 of Karam Pur, Tehsil Mailsi, District Vehari in open auction on 19.10.1960. He was an illiterate person who did not know about the proceedings, as such mutation of the evacuee property was not got sanctioned. Petitioner filed an application to the Commissioner, Multan Division, Multan for incorporation of mutation of the evacuee land on the basis of PTO No.95817 to 90201 but the same has not yet been decided. He made request that respondent No.1 may be directed to attest the mutation of said land accordingly.

2.Arguments heard. Record perused.

3.Admittedly, with promulgation of Evacuee Property and Displaced Persons Act, 1975 (Repealing Act No.XIV of 1975), the evacuee laws stood repealed w.e.f. 01.07.1974, whereafter a limited jurisdiction under Section 2 of the Repealing Act ibid was left with the Notified Officer to decide only the pending proceedings as well as the matter remanded to him by the High Court or the Hon’ble Supreme Court. According to the above enactment, neither any provision is available to make fresh allotment of evacuee land against unsatisfied pending units nor Notified Officer was/is bestowed with any jurisdiction to allot or transfer or grant alternate land. The issue of allotment of the evacuee land after the repeal of evacuee law has been settled in the case titled as Member Board of Revenue/Chief Settlement Commissioner, Punjab, Lahore Vs.

Abdul Majeed & Another (PLD 2015 SC 166) wherein the Hon’ble Supreme Court of Pakistan has conclusively held that the Chief Settlement Commissioner/ Notified Officer is not competent to make any fresh or alternate allotment of land against unsatisfied pending units to any person in lieu of any belated claim. Reliance is also placed on the case titled as Mirza Zafar Ali & Others Vs. Lahore Cantonment Cooperative Housing Society Limited

(2005 SCMR 985). The Hon’ble Supreme Court of Pakistan in another case titled as Member, Board of Revenue, Punjab, Lahore Vs. Rafaqat Ali (1998 SCMR 2596) has held that the Act XIV of 1975 became effective from the 1st day of July 1974 therefore the status of evacuee property as exist on such date could not be changed or converted subsequent to the promulgation of said enactment and after the repeal of settlement laws in 1975, no power vests with the Chief Settlement Commissioner / Notified Officer to allot any fresh alternate land against unsatisfied pending units.

4.Moreover, the Notified Officer / Chief Settlement Commissioner vide Policy Notification No.1624/78/855/RL dated 19th June, 1978 imposed permanent restrictions qua incorporation of stale orders of allotment of evacuee land in the revenue record which had not yet been incorporated in the revenue record before coming into force the Evacuee Property & Displaced Persons (Repeal) Act, 1975 or within one year after passing of alleged allotment order, whichever is later, the said order may be deemed to have been obtained through fraud by ante-dating the entries in the register R.L.II or in revenue record and same should be considered as

cancelled forthwith. For ready reference, notification whereof is reproduced as under:- No.1624/78/855/RL Office of the Member Board of Revenue (Settlement & Rehabilitation Wing) Punjab.

Dated Lahore the 19.6.1978.

From Mian Waheed-ud-Din Rathoro,

Secretary (Rural) (Settlement & Rehab. Wing) Board of Revenue Punjab.

To

1.All the whole time Settlement Commissioners (L) & Addl: Settlement Commissioners (L) Punjab.

2.All the Deputy Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners (ASC) (L) in the Punjab. Subject: Allotment of resumed land to informers etc. Mr. A.K.Khalid, C.S.C./Member Board of Revenue (S&R) Punjab.

Memorandum:

The Chief Settlement Commissioner / Member, Board of Revenue(S&R) Punjab, has been pleased to decide that any allotment that has not been incorporated in the revenue record before coming into force of the Evacuee Property & Displaced Persons (Repeal) Act, 1975 or within one year of the passing of allotment order, whichever is later, may be deemed to have been obtained fraudulently by anti- dating the entries in the register R.L.II and should be cancelled forthwith, after hearing objections, if any, of the so-called allottee

2.The Chief Settlement Commissioner/Member Board of Revenue(S&R) Punjab, has further been pleased to order that all cases where land has been resumed on 'Mukhbari' applications filed by attorneys of the original claimants should invariably be submitted to the Chief Settlement Commissioner for necessary orders as he thinks necessary with regard to the proposal/allotment of the land so resumed, under Section 14 (1A) of the Displaced Persons (Land Settlement Act, 1958, read with section 3 of the Evacuee Property & Displaced Persons Laws (Repeal) Act, 1975.

3.You are, therefore, requested kindly to ensure strict compliance of orders of Chief Settlement Commissioner/ Member Board of Revenue accordingly, without further delay.

Sd/-SECRETARY RURAL)

(SETT: & REHAB. WING)

BOARD OF REVENUE PUNJAB.

No.1624/78/855/RL dated 19th June, 1978.

A copy is forwarded to all the Commissioners/Addl. Commissioners (Settlement Commissioners (Land) Punjab for information and necessary action.

Sd/-SECRETARY RURAL)

(SETT: & REHAB. WING)

BOARD OF REVENUE PUNJAB.

Another notification dated 25th March, 1989 was issued by Board of Revenue which is reproduced as under:-

No:238 – 89/PA/Secy. (R), Board of Revenue, Punjab.

Lahore, dated the 25th March, 1989.

From The Board of Revenue, Punjab.

To All Deputy Commissioners In the Punjab.

Subject: ENTRY OF MUTATIONS IN THE REVENUE

RECORD ON THE BASIS OF TRANSFER

DOCUMENTS.

MEMORANDUM:

It has come to the notice of the Board of Revenue, Punjab that valuable properties have been mutated In favour of various persons though irregular/fraudulent means e.g. on the basis of fictitious, forged or ante-dated document or transfer deeds issued against policy instructions. In this connection it may be pointed out that Verification Committees already exist in the Board of Revenue and at each District Headquarter to verify the genuineness of transferred documents before any mutation is attested on their basis. In order, therefore, to ensure that only genuine documents are presented to the Revenue Authorities for sanction of mutation, it has been decided that no mutation should be entered/attested unless the transfer documents are got re-verified from the concerned Verification Committees, as before. For Lahore, references should be made to the Additional Revenue Commissioner, Board of Revenue, Punjab, Farid Kot House, Lahore. At other places, references should be made to the concerned notified officers under the Repealed Act. Any officer violating or disregarding these instructions will render himself liable to strict disciplinary action. The Deputy Commissioners will be personally responsible to ensure compliance of these instructions.

2.It may, further, be mentioned that a Scrutiny Committee, headed by the Secretary (Revenue), Board of Revenue, has been constituted in the Board of Revenue to scrutinize cases of fraud and forgery. The Committee will be competent to ask for any record from any district. Necessary remedial / corrective action, such as review of mutations etc. as may be proposed by the Scrutiny Committee, should be taken promptly and without least delay under due intimation to the said Committee.

3.Effective implementation of the above instructions may kindly be ensured.

(MIAN EHSAN-UL-HAQ)

Secretary (Revenue), Board of Revenue, Punjab.

But in contravention of above policy notification, the subordinate Revenue hierarchy kept continues incorporating the stale orders of allotment in the revenue record. In order to curb the above erroneous practice, the successor Chief Settlement Commissioner again directed the subordinate authorities vide notification dated 7th December, 2000 to stop the further implementing the stale orders of allotment in revenue record as mentioned in notification dated 19.06.1978. For ready reference, notification whereof is reproduced as under:-

No.2127-2000/3321/PA/Secy (S&R), Board of Revenue, Punjab, Farid Kot House, Lahore, Dated the 7th Dec:2000 From The Board of Revenue, Punjab.

To

1.All Commissioners in the Province.

2.All Deputy Commissioners in the Province. Subject: ORDER OF SENIOR MEMBER, BOARD

OF REVENUE/MEMBER JUDICIAL-I, IN

ROR NO.2469 / 95, SHAUKAT ALI ETC

VERSUS PROVINCE OF PUNJAB DATED

It is a matter of common knowledge that various persons from all walks of life, either sitting behind the scene or in the open are out to grab valuable evacuee property through fraud, forgery or manipulation.

Two cases were recently detected in which allotment orders were fabricated and bogus verification was made. The Deputy Commissioner, Gujranwala has been directed to get the criminal cases registered against the culprits. The case mentioned at subject noted above was decided by the Senior Member/Member-Judl.1, dated 18-7- 2000 copy of which is enclosed. The revenue authorities implemented bogus allotment in Register RL-II dated 1971 in revenue record in year 1995. Whereas instructions issued by the Settlement & Rehabilitation Wing of Board of Revenue, Punjab, Notification No. 1624/78/854, dated19-06- 1978 are as under:- “The Chief Settlement Commissioner/Member, Board of Revenue(S&R) Punjab, has been pleased to decide that any allotment that has not been incorporated in the revenue record before coming into force of the Evacuee Property & Displaced Persons (Repeal) Act, 1975 or within one year of the passing of

allotment order, whichever is later, may be deemed to have been obtained fraudulently by anti-dating the entries in the register R.L.II and should be cancelled forthwith, after hearing objections, if any, of the so-called allottee”. In view of the situation explained above, the Chief Settlement Commissioner, Punjab/Member, Board of Revenue, has been pleased to direct as follows:-

1.No mutation transferring proprietary rights of the land allotted by any order should be sanctioned without prior approval of the Chief Settlement Commissioner, Punjab verbally as well as in writing by an officer not less than a Deputy Commissioner of the District personally to avoid further fraud.

2.A fraud is always a fraud and it is well settled law that nobody can be allowed to reap the Fruit of fraud and retain ill-gotten gains. In order to achieve this objective all allotments made after repeal of Settlements Laws in year 1975 will have to be reviewed and as a start the Deputy Commissioners are requested to send all allotment orders received in their districts after 1990 to the Board of Revenue, Punjab for re-verification.

3.Notification dated 5th September, 1979 lays down that allotments obtained on the basis of forged or fabricated orders are total nullity in the eyes of law and, therefore, should be ignored as non-existent and the land treated as still available for disposal. The Deputy Commissioner are directed to trace out such allotments and take necessary action in the light of these instructions.

MEMBER, BOARD OF REVENUE/

CHIEF SETTLEMNT COMMISSIONER,

PUNJAB, LAHORE

NO. & DATE EVEN

A copy is forwarded for information to:-

1.The Chief Secretary, Government of the Punjab, Lahore 2. The Senior Member, Board of Revenue, Punjab.

MEMBER, BOARD OF REVENUE/

CHIEF SETTLEMNT COMMISSIONER,

PUNJAB, LAHORE

Perusal of the aforesaid consecutive policy

notifications shows that it was mandatory for an allottee to get incorporate the allotment / order in the revenue record within the prescribed period and non-compliance of the above policy notification would frustrate the validity / veracity of the alleged order of allotment. Further, the waqf property could not be allotted to any person and even allotted that allotment would be nullity and void since its inception.

5.Further, the Evacuee Property and Displaced Persons Laws (Repeal) (Amendment) Act, 2022 (XXI of 2022) has been promulgated and Section 3 whereof deals with the transfer / utilization of the evacuee properties. For ready reference, Section 3 of the Act ibid is reproduced as under:

“3. Transfer of property.– All properties, both urban and rural, including agricultural land, other than such properties attached to charitable, religious or educational trusts or institutions, whether occupied or un-occupied, which may be available for disposal immediately before the repeal of the aforesaid Acts and Regulations or which may become available for disposal after such repeal as a result of cancellation of any fraudulent allotment shall stand transferred to the Government for utilization for public purposes.” (emphasis supplied)

After the promulgation of aforesaid enactment, all the evacuee properties stood transferred to the government for its utilization for public purposes and same went out from the jurisdictional domains of the Notified Officer, Chief Settlement Commissioner or the Full Board in the Settlement Department to decide qua its permanent disposal in any manner whatsoever, rather it is only the Government which has also a limited jurisdiction to utilize such land only for public purpose. The term ‘Public Purpose’ has been defined in Black’s Law Dictionary (5th Edition) as under:- “A public purpose or public business has for its objective the promotion of the public health, safety, morals, general welfare, security, prosperity and contentment of all the inhabitants or residents within a given political division, as, for example, a State, the

sovereign powers of which are exercised to promote such public purpose or public business.”

6.In view of above, this writ petition is misconceived, resultantly, the same is hereby dismissed in limine.

(CH. MUHAMMAD IQBAL)

JUDGE

Approved for reporting.

Judge Shahzad Mahmood