FCC sets aside Supreme Court ruling on restaurants in Margalla Hills National Park

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court has set aside a Supreme Court judgement issued in August 2024 that had cleared the way for the demolition of structures developed by the Monal Group of Companies, La Montana and Gloria Jeans within the Margalla Hills National Park.

The earlier Supreme Court ruling had ordered the closure of Monal and the adjoining La Montana restaurant on August 21, 2024, and both were shut the following month as part of measures aimed at protecting the park’s biodiversity. In that judgement, the Supreme Court had also directed that the entrances to the area housing the restaurants be barricaded before the infrastructure was demolished, while ensuring minimal disturbance to wildlife and avoiding harm to trees in the national park.

The matter came before an FCC bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah. The bench heard review petitions filed by the Capital Development Authority and the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad, which had challenged the Supreme Court’s directions to the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board to take possession of Monal, La Montana and Gloria Jeans inside the park. The CDA and Islamabad Capital Territory Police had also been directed to assist the wildlife board in that process.

With the judgement set aside, an earlier stay order also stood lifted. The FCC ruled that ownership disputes would be decided by trial courts independently and without being influenced by judicial observations, while administrative questions would be dealt with by the relevant regulatory authorities. It also directed the trial courts where the cases are pending to decide the matters at the earliest.

Observations during hearing

During the hearing, Justice Rizvi said a number of issues had not been considered in the Supreme Court’s ruling. He observed that courts decide cases on the basis of law rather than emotion and should disregard matters that are irrelevant or extraneous.

Senior counsel Ahsan Bhoon welcomed the outcome on behalf of the restaurants, but Justice Rizvi told him there was no need to praise the court and said judicial decisions should always rest on a firm foundation.

Background of earlier Supreme Court proceedings

On Sept 10, 2024, the Supreme Court had dismissed a similar set of review petitions filed by the Monal Group of Companies, Capital View Point Restaurant, also known as La Montana, Sunshine Heights (Pvt) Ltd, and Brig (retd) Falak Naz Bangash of the defence ministry.

While rejecting those petitions, the Supreme Court had declared Monal Group’s Luqman Ali Afzal to be no better than a trespasser and held that he had no legal right to continue possessing land in the Margalla Hills National Park. It had also ruled that the operation of La Montana and Gloria Jeans was in complete disregard of the Islamabad Wildlife (Protection, Preservation and Management) Ordinance.

In its 2024 judgement, the Supreme Court had further observed that the operators of the restaurants, along with those who allowed them to function, had undermined the integrity of the national park, damaged its trees and flora, and disturbed local bird and animal life. The court had also said the park’s natural environment had been harmed, including its role as a rainfall catchment area and in recharging springs and streams, warning that the public had already borne a very high environmental cost that future generations would continue to face.