IHC stops eviction of One Constitution Avenue apartment owners

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has restrained authorities from evicting apartment owners holding sub-leases in One Constitution Avenue until further orders, while hearing intra-court appeals against part of an earlier ruling linked to third-party rights.

A division bench comprising Justice Muhammad Azam Khan and Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas heard the appeals filed by former air chief Mujahid Anwar Khan, former International Cricket Council president Ahsan Mani, former Senate chairman Wasim Sajjad and others. The appellants challenged paragraph 30 of a single bench decision concerning protection of third-party rights. Advocates Taimur Aslam and Ali Raza appeared for the appellants, while Kashif Ali Malik represented the Capital Development Authority.

During the hearing, the CDA's counsel argued that the appeals were not maintainable. Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas said the bench would take up the full matter later and was only considering the request for interim relief at this stage.

The court also asked whether the apartment owners' position had been examined when the dispute was before the Supreme Court. The bench further questioned how residents had started living in the building despite the absence of a completion certificate. Referring to that issue, Justice Muhammad Azam Khan remarked: "Was the CDA sleeping when there was no completion certificate but residents had already started living there?"

The CDA's lawyer told the court that the building still had not been issued a completion certificate. The bench then ordered that no eviction of apartment owners should take place until further orders.

Earlier ruling and residents' position

Last month, the high court dismissed a petition against cancellation of the lease and disposed of related applications filed by apartment owners. The residents had argued that the CDA had approved the building plan and issued a no-objection certificate, after which the apartments were bought. They maintained that the dispute was between the CDA and the developer and should be settled between those parties.

In its detailed verdict, the court held that the buyers did not have ownership rights. It said ownership had not passed to the buyers because the project's lease had been terminated and the legal requirements for transfer of ownership had not been fulfilled.

Project background

The project originated from a 13.5-acre plot awarded to BNP Group through an auction held on March 9, 2005, for Rs4.88 billion. Possession was handed over in the same year after an initial payment of Rs800 million. According to the case record cited in court, BNP has so far paid Rs1.02 billion, while Rs3.85 billion remains recoverable in instalments until 2026.

In July 2016, the CDA cancelled the lease, citing multiple violations. That decision was upheld by the Islamabad High Court in 2017, which also declared illegal the conversion of a planned five-star hotel into luxury apartments. However, the Supreme Court set aside that judgment in early 2019 and directed the developer to pay Rs17.5 billion in instalments over eight years.

The CDA has argued that BNP did not meet its financial obligations even after 21 years and has maintained that full ownership depended on complete payment of the land cost. Of the total Rs17.5 billion liability, only Rs2.9 billion, or about 16.6%, has reportedly been paid.