BHUREY KHAN AND Others vs MUHAMMAD ANWAR AND Other
This matter arises from a petition directed against the judgment of the Lahore High Court in Writ Petition No. 1578-R of 1976. The core legal question concerns the proper implementation of the Settlement Commissioner's order dated 25-8-1976, which allowed the respondents to retain 288 P.I. Units previously excluded by subordinate authorities, and whether this implementation prejudices the petitioners by encroaching upon land not covered by the cancellation orders. The Supreme Court held that the orders of the Settlement Commissioner and the High Court are clear to the effect that the respondents are only to be restored the specific area that was cancelled from their names by the lower authority and subsequently set aside by the Settlement Commissioner, and no other area is to be taken from the petitioners. The key principle laid down is that execution and implementation of administrative or quasi-judicial settlement orders must strictly adhere to the explicit metes and bounds of the original cancellation and restoration orders without extending to extraneous properties.
- Whether the respondents are entitled to be restored land beyond the specific area cancelled by the lower settlement authorities?
- Can settlement authorities encroach upon land not covered by cancellation orders to make up allotted P.I. Units?
ORDER
1. NASIM HASAN SHAH, J.-The only point worthy of soma consideration wised by, Syed Sajjad Raza Jafari, in support of this petition, directed against the judgment of a learned- Single Judge of the Lahore High. Court gassed in Writ Petition No. 1578-R 0f 1976 is that the order of the Settlement Commissioner, Lahore Division, dated 25-8-1976, who allowed the respondingto retain also the 288 P. I. Units, which were excluded by the A. R. C. (L) S. D. O., Kasur on the ground that the latter, while withdrawing the said units, had no authority to do so, is being implemented in a manner prejudicial to the interest of the petitioner herein. In this connection, it is claimed that the land allotted to the petitioners consists of not only the land which was withdrawn from the respondents, pursuant to the orbs of the A. R. C. (L)/ A. C. O., Kasur but as also of some other land, not covered by his orders and further that the Settlement authorities, in order to make up the area of 288 P. I. Units in favour of the-.Respondents are even including therein some area, which was not covered by the orders of cancellation passed by the A.. R. C. (L)/A. C. R., Kasur.
2. We would observe that the orders of. The Settlement Commissioner, a well as that of the High Court, are very clear, namely that the respondent are to be restored only that area which was cancelled from their names by In elder of the A. R. C (L)/A. C. O. Kasur and which sods sit aside by order of the Settlement Commissioner, dated 25-8-1976 and that no other area, apart therefrom, is to be taken from the petitioners herein.
3. This petition, with the above observations, is dismissed hereby.