P L D 2005 Peshawar 88 (PLP)

North‑West Frontier Province Public Property (Removal of Encroachment) Act (V of 1977)‑‑‑ ‑‑‑‑Ss. 3, 5, 8 & 12‑‑‑Constitution of Pakistan (1973), Art. 199‑‑ Constitutional petition‑‑‑Maintainability‑‑‑Petitioner had alleged that Cantonment Board, a year back had erected barriers at the entry of each and every road of the Cantonment and had employed an Army Sepoy on same and they had started interfering with the rights of movements of citizens on public path, which had created great unrest in the general public‑‑‑Petitioner had prayed that action of Cantonment Board be declared illegal, without lawful authority and ineffective upon the rights of petitioner and general public‑‑‑Petitioner had further prayed that Cantonment Board be restrained from violating fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution‑‑‑Validity‑‑Condition precedent for exercise of jurisdiction under Art. 199 of the Constitution was that no other adequate remedy was provided by law to petitioner‑‑‑Adequate remedy was available to petitioner, in the present case, to voice his grievance in terms of relevant provisions of North‑West Frontier Province Public Property (Removal of Encroachment) Act, 1977 Petitioner, otherwise was not an aggrieved party‑‑‑High Court, could not exercise its Constitutional jurisdiction in circumstances. Shujaullah Khan for Petitioner. Wasim Rehan petitioner has filed instant writ petition under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 alleging that a year back respondents Nos. 2 and 3 erected barriers at the beginning of each and every road entering into Cantonment area and also A employed an Army constable on the same and they started interfering with the rights of movement of citizens of Pakistan including petitioner from using public paths, which created great unrest in the general public. The respondents were repeatedly requested to remove the restrictions but they declined to do so. The petitioner prayed that action of the respondents be declared as illegal, without lawful, authority and ineffective upon the rights of the petitioner and general public with further prayer that respondents be restrained from violating the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

2. Under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, the High Court is empowered to issue a writ if as borne out from sub‑Article (1), "it is satisfied that no other adequate remedy is provided by law". Sub‑Article (1) thus confers on the High Court discretion of fairly wide amplitude but at the same time, it imposes a responsibility on the High Court to exercise the discretion with some circumspection. The satisfaction of the High Court envisaged by Sub -Article (1) that no other adequate remedy provided in law is available to the aggrieved party is condition precedent for exercise of jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution. In the instant case, on the one hand, the petitioner is not an aggrieved person in strict sense of the term whereas, on the other adequate remedy is available to him to voice his grievance in terms of the relevant provisions of N.‑W.F.P. Public Property (Removal of Encroachment) Act, 1977. In the circumstances, we do not feel inclined to exercise our Constitutional jurisdiction in the matter and direct the respondents to remove the barriers which appear to have been erected in Cantonment area for security purposes. The writ petition having been found bereft of substance is dismissed in limine. H.B.T./322/P Petition dismissed.