PANNU N KHAN Etcs vs MUHAMMAD ANIS AND OTHRES
This petition for leave to appeal is directed against the judgment of the Lahore High Court dated 4-3-1981, which interfered with the order of the Deputy Settlement Commissioner dated 17-1-1981 regarding the transfer of a property. The core legal question concerns the propriety of the High Court's exercise of constitutional jurisdiction to interfere with a settlement authority's order that was passed strictly in compliance with a final and unchallenged earlier remand judgment of the High Court. The Supreme Court held that the Deputy Settlement Commissioner's order contained no defect warranting correction under the constitutional jurisdiction of the High Court, and thus the High Court erred in interfering with it. The petition was accordingly dismissed, affirming that a settlement order complying with a final remand direction should remain undisturbed in the absence of legal defects.
- Whether the High Court can interfere under its constitutional jurisdiction with an order passed by a settlement authority in strict compliance with a final and unchallenged remand order?
- Does an order passed by the Deputy Settlement Commissioner pursuant to previous judicial directions warrant interference when no legal defect is shown?
ORDER
1. NASIM HASAN Shah,--J this is a petition directed against the judgment of a learned Single Judge of the Lahore High Court dated 4-3-1981 whereby the order of the Deputy Settlement Commissioner dated 17-1-1981 transferring a certain property to respondents I and 2 in its entirety was and interfered with. The above order was passed after protracted litigation in which the case had reached the High Court once before and a learned Single Judge of the said Court, by a detailed judgment passed on 29-5-1979, had remanded the Settlement authorities for determining the matter in accordance with the directions given therein. The said judgment of the High Court was not challenged before this Court and, therefore, had become final. The Deputy Settlement Commissioner, Gujranwala, in pursuance of the above remand order, passed an order on 17-1-1981 in accordance with the directions contained in the aforesaid remand order of the High Court dated 29-5-1979 and herein held in favour of respondents 1-2. Hence this petition for leave to appeal.
2. Mr. Imtiaz Mohammad Khan, Advocate-on-Record, on behalf of respondents 4-9 submitted that the persons mentioned as petitioners 2-7 in the petition for leave do not support the petition.
3. Be that as it may, after going through the entire record and carefully perusing the order of the Deputy Settlement Commissioner, which impugned before the High Court, we are satisfied that there was no defect in the said, order, which was amenable to correction in exercise of the constitutional jurisdiction of the High Court. The High Court, therefore, rightly order. There is, accordingly, no ground for interference with the impugned judgment of the High Court in the present proceedings.
4. The result is that this petition must fail and is dismissed hereby..