The Federal Constitutional Court has issued a detailed eight-page written order formally reversing the previous decision to demolish the Monal Restaurant, located in the Margalla Hills.
The court ruled that the previous judgment could not be sustained as it was issued without providing the affected parties a fair opportunity to be heard, noting that the judicial process had exceeded its jurisdiction, thereby failing to meet the requirements of justice.
The judgment, authored by Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi, highlights that the dispute concerning the lease and land ownership of the Monal Restaurant was already sub judice (pending) in a civil court. Despite this, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued a ruling on a constitutional petition before the civil court could reach a verdict.
According to the order, the Supreme Court had previously upheld the High Court’s decision, effectively rendering the proceedings in both the civil and high courts ineffective. The Constitutional Court noted that rather than correcting the legal errors, the previous oversight had merely endorsed them.
The court further observed that the Islamabad High Court issued remarks and ordered inquiries against various restaurants on the Margalla Hills that were not even parties to the case. The judgment stated that the superior judiciary, in this instance, functioned as a civil court by drawing final conclusions without recording evidence, which was inconsistent with established legal procedures.
Furthermore, the Constitutional Court noted that even during the review proceedings, the Supreme Court did not provide the parties with an effective opportunity to present their case. The ruling emphasized that the judicial oath mandated that judges protect the Constitution and the law, which included the responsibility to rectify legal errors within their own decisions.
The court declared the previous Supreme Court order, which had cancelled all leases on the Margalla Hills, to be against the law. It further ruled that as the Capital Development Authority (CDA) held jurisdiction over the Margalla Hills, the decision to divert collected rent to the Wildlife Board was also declared null and void.
Concluding the order, the court stated that the Islamabad High Court failed to conduct a proper legal review of the Wildlife Act. The dispute regarding the lease and ownership of the land would now be decided by the competent civil court based on the evidence presented.