FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN And Others vs AMJAD HUSSAIN DILAWARI And Other
The Federation of Pakistan filed three separate petitions seeking leave to appeal against the judgment of the Lahore High Court, which followed a previous decision on a question of law in M. Afzal & Sons v. Federal Government of Pakistan and allowed the constitutional petitions filed by the respondents. The core legal question involved the correctness of the legal proposition determined in the earlier Lahore High Court judgment. The Supreme Court of Pakistan held that since leave to appeal had already been granted in connected petitions involving the identical question of law, leave to appeal should be granted in the present matters as well so that the cases may be heard together. The key principle laid down is that where identical questions of law are pending adjudication before the apex court in connected matters, leave to appeal is appropriately granted for consolidated hearing.
- Whether leave to appeal should be granted when an identical question of law is already pending adjudication in connected petitions before the Supreme Court?
- Can constitutional petitions be decided following a precedent established in earlier reported judgments of the High Court?
ORDER
SHAFIUR RAHMAN, J.--The Federation of Pakistan by three separate petitions seeks leave to appeal against the judgment of the Lahore High Court, dated 6th February, 1980 whereby the decision on a question of law given in M. Afzal & Sons v. Federal Government of Pakistan, PLD 1977 Lah. 1327, we followed in deciding the Constitutional petitions filed by the respondents which were allowed.
2. Mr. Fazal-i-Hussain, the learned counsel for the petitioners has stated that leave to appeal has already been granted in M. Afzal & Sons and other connected petitions (Civil Petitions 138-8 to 143- R of 1977) and as the question of law involved is identical, the leave to appeal should be allowed in these petitions also and the matter be heard alongwith those petitions.
Leave to appeal is granted. The appeals to be heard on the present record alongwith the other connected matters. The parties are at liberty to file such additional documents as they consider necessary.