IHC stops eviction of One Constitution Avenue apartment owners

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Monday restrained authorities from evicting apartment owners at One Constitution Avenue until further orders while hearing intra-court appeals filed by sub-lease holders against part of an earlier ruling in the case.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Azam Khan and Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas heard the appeals filed by sub-lease holders, including Mujahid Anwar Khan, Ehsan Mani and Wasim Sajjad. Advocates Taimur Aslam and Ali Raza appeared for the appellants, while Advocate Kashif Ali Malik represented the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

The petitioners challenged paragraph 30 of a single-bench verdict dealing with protection of third-party rights in the One Constitution Avenue matter. Last month, IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar had upheld the CDA’s cancellation of the lease of the multi-storey building.

In a detailed judgment issued on May 4 regarding the April 30 hearing, the chief justice dismissed petitions filed by the developer and disposed of petitions submitted by investors. The court held that the developer had failed to meet financial conditions set by the Supreme Court, particularly by not paying the 2022 instalment.

The judgment also disposed of the investors’ petition, observing that sub-lessees claiming to be bona fide purchasers could not be granted relief under Article 199 because such claims required evidence. The court said they could seek remedy before a court of competent jurisdiction and could also pursue claims against the petitioner, BNP.

During Monday’s hearing, Justice Minhas said the court would first examine the stay matter before taking up the case in full, and asked whether the rights of apartment owners had been considered when the matter was previously before the Supreme Court. He also remarked that, under the order being challenged by the petitioners, their rights still existed.

Justice Minhas asked when the CDA had appointed an administrator for the building. In response, Advocate Ali Raza said the authority had done so on March 12, 2023.

Advocate Taimur Aslam argued that the CDA should not object to the existing arrangement, saying the building had been managed by a residents’ committee. He further told the court that a committee formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also examining the issue and that its recommendations would later need approval from the cabinet and the CDA board.

Raza told the bench that the CDA had earlier acknowledged the rights of apartment owners and had collected lease charges ranging from 15% to 18% from them. Justice Minhas then questioned why the CDA had recognised people living in the building, while Justice Khan asked whether the project had ever been issued a completion certificate.

The CDA’s counsel replied that no completion certificate had so far been issued for the building. Following the hearing, the court restrained the authorities from evicting the apartment owners until further orders.