Daily Times

The government allottees of F14 and F15 had challenged the judgment of Islamabad High Court (IHC) through Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar whereby the ISD court declared F14, F15, G12 housing schemes illegal.

The case was heard Thursday before three-member bench comprising Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Ayesha Malik.

The allottees pleaded through their Counsel Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar, Advocate Supreme Court, that the high court cannot exercise or enjoy suo motu jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973 and it is only on the application of an aggrieved person or on the application of any person with specific grounds or prayers, and further there must exist a dispute before exercising judicial power by an aggrieved person within the meaning of Article 199 of the Constitution as an essential pre requisite to invoke the writ jurisdiction as declared by this court PLD 2021 SC 571, 2014 SCMR 122, therefore, the impugned judgment dated 03-02-2022 passed by ISD High Court suffers from gross illegality, is based on erroneous assumption of jurisdiction and the same is liable to be set aside by this court being unconstitutional and illegal.

It was also pleaded before Supreme Court that learned division bench of High Court of Islamabad High Court through Impugned judgment dated 03.02.2022 raised such questions, which were nor taken up by the petitioners nor was made any prayer to that effect made in the writ petition. Thus, it amounts to exercise of Suo motu power which a High Court does not have, thus the impugned dated 03.02.2022 is therefore, patently illegal.

It was agitated in appeal that the jurisdiction exercised by the high court declaring the criteria or revised criteria for allotment of policy issued by government was not vesting in the High Court by law and Exercising such judicial power without any backing of law clearly interfering in and encroaching on the legislative and executive domain and not sustainable in law.

It was argued by Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar Advocate Supreme Court that the learned High Court was not legally justified to reassess, rewrite, reconsider and gave different meanings of the words public purpose, govt competency to make policies, acquisition and authority of Housing foundation, question of attribution of malafide to law and legislation on the same subject Housing sectors F14, F15, Isd which were early impugned in the first round of litigation and the matter was finally decided through reported Impugned judgment SCMR 2021 page 201, thus violated the concept and principle of law regarding finality of proceedings and principle of Exception Res Judicata pronounced earlier by this court.

It was pleaded before Supreme Court through appeal that the learned High Court failed to appreciate that in extraordinary jurisdiction relating to a writ could only be exercised by the High Court when it is specifically moved by a party whose legal rights have been denied which in the present case absolutely not and moreover acquisition for a housing scheme constituting a valid public purpose has already been decided for the same Housing sectors F 14/F 15 by the Supreme Court vide reported Impugned judgment 2021 SCMR Page 201.

It was agitated by the Counsel Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar that the High Court failed to appreciate that the policy in question was issued in the year 2015 and was implemented so far as the present petitioners have deposited the requisite amount to the Housing authority and they have been allotted plots whereas the points observed in the impugned judgment could not be given a retrospective effect on the bases of reviewing the policy submitted during ICA proceedings.

After hearing at length, the bench issued notices to Attorney General and respondents and fixed the case after three weeks.