RAWALPINDI:
The government has formally issued a notice to introduce new laws aimed at ending the years-long delays in property division and ancestral inheritance cases. Certified copies of the new legislation and SOPs have been circulated to District and Sessions Judges, all revenue department officers, commissioners, deputy commissioners, additional deputy commissioners (revenue), circle patwars and tehsildars to ensure effective implementation.
Under the new notification, hearings in property division cases will now be conducted electronically instead of through traditional paper files. Claimants will be able to access details of their hearings online from home.
The time frame for settling divorce cases has been reduced from 180 days to 60 days. If a revenue authority fails to decide a case within 60 days, it will automatically be transferred to the Assistant Commissioner. Across Punjab, legal heirs will also be able to mutually share inherited property through a simplified process.
To ensure quick dispute resolution, cases can be brought before a mediation committee. The appeal period is set at 30 days, and appeal decisions must also be made within 30 days. Factors causing procedural delays have been eliminated and there will be no appeals against interim orders.
The government has implemented these changes through amendments to the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1967.
Commenting on the new law, Bar Association President Tariq Mahmood Sajid Awan said meaningful results would depend on effective implementation. He noted that while the previous law required decisions within 180 days, cases often dragged on for up to 10 years. While the time frame has now been reduced, the practical impact remains to be seen.
Currently, nearly one million cases related to property and ancestral land disputes are pending across Punjab in courts, competent authorities and boards of revenue, many of them pending for one to five years. He urged the government to issue immediate orders to dispose of pending cases within 40 days and warned that if old cases continue to be pending, new cases must not be taken up for three to four years.
