The Federal Constitutional Court has overturned the Supreme Court’s decision ordering the demolition of Monal Restaurant at Pir Sohawa, accepting the appeals filed by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Metropolitan
Corporation. The court also vacated the stay order and directed trial courts to decide the pending cases at the earliest.
The Constitutional Court ruled that the ownership dispute must be decided by the trial courts independently and without being influenced by judicial observations, while administrative matters will be determined by the relevant regulatory authorities.
During the hearing, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi observed that several important aspects had not been taken into account in the Supreme Court’s judgment.
He remarked that the court had also expressed displeasure over the filing of the case and the review petition, adding that the judgment included matters that were not part of the case. He stressed that the Constitutional Court would decide the matter strictly in accordance with the law rather than on emotions.
Counsel Ahsan Bhoon told the bench that the court had thoroughly examined the case. In response, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi asked counsel not to praise the bench, stating that the court would issue its ruling only on the basis of the proceedings and would not include irrelevant narratives in its judgment.
Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi further observed that after reading the Supreme Court’s judgment, it appeared that several observations had been recorded which were beyond the scope of the court proceedings.