LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Aalia Neelum on Friday set aside decisions of deputy commissioner-led committees that had granted possession of disputed properties to individuals in 10 districts of Punjab.
The chief justice overturned the orders while hearing petitions challenging the Punjab Protection of Ownership of Immovable Property Act, 2025, which authorises deputy commissioner-led committees to decide land dispute cases.
During the proceedings, Justice Neelum observed that many such disputes would not arise if patwaris performed their duties efficiently. Rejecting claims about prolonged civil litigation, she said she was fully aware of the pendency of old cases in courts.
She ruled that commissioners and deputy commissioners had no authority to remove or restore possession of properties on their own, questioning how many laws the government intended to sideline. The chief justice expressed concern that DCs had ordered dispossession despite the matters being sub judice before civil courts.
A citizen from Depalpur, who had obtained possession of property under the new law, appeared before the court but was directed to surrender possession. His counsel conceded that the DC-led committee had acted beyond its legal authority.
Justice Neelum remarked that since the lawyer had admitted the committee exceeded its mandate, action could be initiated against its members. When the lawyer argued that people were forced to seek alternative forums due to delays in the judicial system, the chief justice cautioned him against making sensational remarks aimed at media headlines.
She clarified that the core issue before the court was not ownership of the property but whether deputy commissioners had the authority to decide such disputes, adding that such powers rested with tribunals constituted under the law.
Suspending the implementation of the disputed orders, the chief justice referred the petitions to a full bench yet to be constituted for further hearing.
The petitions were filed by Rana Saleem Latif, Muhammad Ali and others against decisions of dispute resolution committees in 10 districts.
Earlier, on December 22, the LHC had suspended the operation of the Punjab Protection of Ownership of Immovable Property Ordinance, 2025, announcing that a full bench would hear the matter. The move drew criticism from Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who said the decision would benefit land-grabbing mafias, while provincial ministers defended the law in the Punjab Assembly.
However, bar councils across the country endorsed the LHC’s decision on December 24. Pakistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Chaudhry Tahir Nasrullah Warraich said the law undermined the jurisdiction of patwaris and unlawfully empowered assistant commissioners beyond their mandate.
