The Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan (FCCP) has held that officials cannot cancel a completed transfer under the Evacuee Property Act Pakistan framework without clear legal authority, and that fraud claims alone do not give an institution power beyond what statute allows.
A two-member bench of Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi allowed a petition by Muhammad Ahmed Yousaf. It set aside a Lahore High Court division bench judgment of 2 March 2026 and restored the single bench ruling of 14 December 2023. The parties were told to bear their own costs.
What the Mandi Raiwind case involved
The dispute concerned a six-marla and 175-square-foot house in Mandi Raiwind, Lahore, first treated as evacuee property. It was provisionally transferred to Azeem Bakhsh in 1960, then permanently transferred by deed to his legal heirs on 13 October 1970. The petitioner later relied on registered documents and mutation records to claim ownership.
On 31 March 2022, the relevant authorities declared the property government land and ordered its auction. The Lahore High Court single bench set that order aside; a division bench later reversed the single bench. The FCCP restored the single bench outcome after converting the petition into an appeal.
Why the court said there was no jurisdiction
The court said the law that governed refugee settlement and compensation—part of Pakistan’s broader evacuee property laws—was repealed in 1975. After repeal, only cases already pending then and covered by the saving provision could continue. An application filed on 14 February 2022 did not fall in that category, so the authorities had no jurisdiction to act on it or cancel the permanent transfer.
It held that a completed transfer cannot be reopened without lawful authority. Questions about ownership or whether documents are valid, it added, can be decided by a competent civil court. Alleged changes or unclear entries in the transfer deed could not, without checking the original record and admissible evidence, prove fraud.
Fair hearing and constitutional protections
The FCCP also found that an order affecting property rights without notice or a chance to be heard breached the principles of natural justice and Articles 4 and 10-A of the Constitution. In its view, the single bench had correctly tested whether the authorities had jurisdiction under the Evacuee Property Act Pakistan settlement regime.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- 1960: The Mandi Raiwind house was provisionally transferred to Azeem Bakhsh.
- 13 October 1970: A permanent transfer deed was issued in favour of his legal heirs.
- 1975: The law on refugee settlement and compensation was repealed.
- 14 February 2022: An application was filed before the authorities; the court later held it gave them no jurisdiction to cancel the transfer.
- 31 March 2022: Authorities declared the property government land and ordered an auction.
- 14 December 2023 / 2 March 2026 / 29 October 2026: The Lahore High Court single bench set aside the auction order; a division bench reversed that decision; the FCCP restored the single bench judgment.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Federal Constitutional Court ne kaha hai ke jo evacuee property pehle se permanent transfer ho chuki ho, usay baghair saaf qanooni ikhtiyar ke cancel nahi kiya ja sakta. Fraud ka ilzam akela kisi idare ko had se zyada power nahi deta. Mandi Raiwind, Lahore ke ek ghar ka case is faisle mein wapas single bench ke 2023 ke order par aaya. Agar ownership ya papers par jhagda ho to woh civil court mein ja sakta hai, aur notice ke baghair order nahi hona chahiye.
