Police officers walk past the Supreme Court of Pakistan building in Islamabad, Pakistan April 6, 2022. REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that a land grab dispute does not end with the death of the accused and directs the Peshawar High Court to re-assess the case in accordance with the law.
According to the court’s officially approved detailed judgment for reporting, the Supreme Court partially set aside the Peshawar High Court’s Abbottabad Bench order dated March 21, 2022 and ordered a fresh inquiry into the issue of restoring possession of the disputed land.
Justice Ahsan Ishtiaq Ibrahim, authoring the judgment on behalf of the three-member court, noted that illegal occupation of land is a matter that does not end with a criminal conviction as its civil consequences continue. Therefore, even after the death of the accused, the appeal for restoration of possession remains maintainable.
The complainant, advocate Muhammad Khurshid Khan, had filed a case under the Illegal Dispossession Act, 2005, alleging illegal occupation of his 11-marla property. In 2015, the High Court sentenced the accused, Dost Muhammad Khan, to three years in prison, but released him on probation due to his age and health, while ordering him to return possession of the land within a month. Four co-accused were acquitted.
During the appeal, Dost Muhammad Khan resigned, resulting in the automatic reduction of the prison sentence on appeal. However, the Supreme Court held that the issue of restoration of possession remains alive under the Act and cannot be ignored.
The apex court noted that the 2005 Act is a special law that provides immediate protection to landowners and an effective mechanism to regain possession.
