MUHAMMAD AMIR KHAN And Others vs MUHAMMAD HANIF And Other
This matter arises from a petition for leave to appeal against the judgment of the Lahore High Court dismissing a civil revision in a pre-emption suit. The core legal question concerns the determination of the period of limitation for filing a pre-emption suit, specifically whether limitation should be reckoned from the date of physical possession under the sale or from the date of the attestation of the mutation, in respect of a sale involving a share of joint unpartitioned land rather than a specific piece of land. The Supreme Court held that where the subject-matter of the sale is an undivided share of joint land and not specific land, physical possession cannot be deemed to have been taken under the sale so as to attract the limitation period under section 30 of the Punjab Pre-emption Act, 1913, thereby making a suit brought within a year of the mutation attestation within time. The key principle laid down is that limitation tied to physical possession under section 30 of the Punjab Pre-emption Act does not apply to sales of undivided shares in joint land where specific physical possession is absent.
- From what point should the period of limitation be reckoned in a pre-emption suit involving joint land?
- Does the taking of physical possession under a sale of an undivided share of joint land attract the limitation period under section 30 of the Punjab Pre-emption Act 1913?
- Is a pre-emption suit filed within a year of the attestation of the mutation of sale considered within time when specific physical possession of joint land is not established?
- Section 30, Punjab Pre-emption Act 1913
ORDER
1. MUHAMMAD AFZAL ZULLAH, J.--Leave to appeal has been sought from judgment, dated 23rd April, 1986, of the Lahore High Court; whereby a Civil Revision filed by a vendee arising out of a pre- emption matter, was dismissed.
2. The main point urged before, the High Court and reiterated before us by the learned counsel is that the respondent /plaintiffs' suit was time-barred as the period of limitation should have been reckoned from the date of possession under the sale and not from the date of the mutation.
3. The learned Judge in the High Court observed as follows in this behalf:- "Admittedly, the subject-matter of sale as agreed to by the parties, was 1761 /28184th share of the joint land and not any specific piece of land. In the circumstances, the petitioners could not be said to have taken physical possession of the land in dispute under the sale so as to attract the provisions of section 30 of the Punjab Pre-emption Act, 1913, confining the period of limitation to a year of taking physical possession of the land. The suit was no doubt brought within a year of the attestation of the mutation of sale and was within time. "
4. In order to meet this observation, learned counsel relied upon a previous litigation between the pre-emptor and the vendor wherein the pre-emptor had challenged the right of the vendor to sell specific Khasra numbers from joint un partitioned property. This suit was compromised as a result of which the main contesting parties (although the petitioner was also a pro forma party in the suit) had agreed to keep their possession of respective properties in accordance with their private arrangement. It is nowhere shown that this arrangement was to be made applicable to the land in, dispute. Be that as it may, this point was not urged before the High Court. We, therefore, are not inclined to give any conclusive finding thereon. This petition has not force and is accordingly dismissed.