FCCP restores Lahore ruling on Mandi Raiwind house transfer
The Federal Constitutional Court held that Evacuee Property Act Pakistan transfers already completed cannot be cancelled without clear legal power, restoring a December 2023 Lahore single-bench order.
The Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan ruled that authorities cannot cancel a completed evacuee property transfer without explicit legal authority.
A two-member bench led by Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan allowed Muhammad Ahmed Yousaf’s petition and restored the Lahore High Court single-bench ruling of 14 December 2023.
The court said the refugee settlement and compensation law was repealed in 1975, so a 14 February 2022 application gave authorities no jurisdiction to cancel the permanent transfer.
The dispute involved a six-marla and 175-square-foot house in Mandi Raiwind, Lahore, permanently transferred to Azeem Bakhsh’s heirs on 13 October 1970.
Orders affecting property rights without notice or a hearing were held to violate natural justice and Articles 4 and 10-A of the Constitution.