1995 PLP R183 (SCMR)

AJMAL MIAN, J: ‑‑This is a petition for leave to appeal against the judgment dated 21‑11‑1992 passed by a learned Single Judge of the Lahore High Court in Writ Petition No. 410/R of 1979 filed by Haji Niaz Muhammad, predecessor‑in‑interest of the present petitioners, against the order of the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Religious and Minority Affairs, Government of Pakistan, hereinafter referred to as the Joint Secretary, dated 15‑3‑1979, dismissing the same.

2. The above case has chequered history. However, it will suffice to observe that suit property was declared as, a property attached to an Educational Trust by the Chairman, Evacu'6e Trust Board by his order dated 15‑1‑1978. However, in the operative portion of the order, the Chairman, Evacuee Trust Beard held that PTD issued in favour of Haji Niaz Muhammad was saved as it was issued prior to 1968. The above order was impugned, inter alia, by one Manzoorul Haq through a revision before the Joint Secretary who by his order dated 15‑3‑1979 allowed the above revision as under:‑‑ "In view of the above findings I am fully convinced that the provisional transfer order issued by the Deputy Settlement Commissioner, and the orders of the Settlement Commissioner (Mr. Saeeduzzaman), dated the 28th November, 1959 and the 9th May, 1964 respectively, cannot be deemed to be permanent transfer deeds, issued prior to June 1968, for the purposes of section 10 of Act XIII of 1975. I, therefore, set aside the orders of the Chairman whereby he has validated the transfer of the disputed property in favour of Haji Niaz Muhammad. The property shall be deemed to be evacuee trust and its occupants as the tenants of the Board:' Against the above order Haji Niaz Muhammad filed above Writ Petition which has been dismissed by the impugned judgment for the following reason:‑‑ "For what has been said above, the Chairman, Evacuee Property Board, had erred in law in validating the transfer of the disputed property in favour of Haji Niaz Muhammad and the order of the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Religious and Minority Affairs, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad, is eminently justified. It is held that the property is evacuee trust property and had rightly been to be vested in the Evacuee Trust Property Board, constituted under section 3 of the Evacuee Trust Properties (Management and Disposal) Act, 1975. There is no force in both these writ petitions and . the same are dismissed with no order as to costs:' The petitioners have, therefore, filed present petition for leave to appeal.

3. In support of the above petition Mirza Hafizur Rehman, learned Advocate Supreme Court; appearing for the petitioners, has vehemently contended that under section 10 ' of the Evacuee Trust Properties (Management and Disposal) Act, 1975, hereinafter referred to .as the Act, the transferred Evacuee Trust Properties made bona fidely prior to June, 1968 were saved and, therefore, the Joint Secretary and the learned Judge in Chambers were not justified in non‑suiting the petitioner. The above contention is not tenable. In our view, the Joint Secretary and the learned Judge in Chambers were justified in holding that the transfers called cannot be said to be bona fide in view of the fact that the Additional Settlement Commissioner first time declared the suit property as trust property on 9‑2‑1963 and Haji Niaz Muhammad obtained transfer order and PTD on 9‑5‑1964. In other words at the time of obtaining transfer Haji Niaz Muhammad knew the factum that the suit property was claimed as trust property and before the above controversy was finally settled, he obtained the above transfer.

4. The impugned judgment is, therefore, unexceptionable. Leave is refused. AA./R‑235/S?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????? Leave refused.