MUHAMMAD SHAFFI vs MEMBER (REVENUE), BOARD OF REVENUE, PUNJAB, LAHORE AND 2 Other

This petition for leave to appeal arises from a dispute regarding the appointment of a Lambardar. The petitioner challenged the Collector's decision to appoint a rival candidate, respondent No. 3, as Lambardar, which was upheld through the administrative hierarchy and subsequently challenged via a writ petition in the High Court. The High Court dismissed the writ petition in limine, prompting the petitioner to approach the Supreme Court. The core legal question was whether the appointment of a Lambardar creates a vested right that is justiciable through a writ petition. The Supreme Court, relying on its precedent in Abdul Wahid v. The Member, Board of Revenue, Punjab and another (1971 SCMR 719), held that the office of a Lambardar is essentially an administrative measure rather than a post to which a candidate can lay a claim as a matter of right. Consequently, the Court affirmed the High Court's decision to dismiss the writ petition, establishing the principle that appointments to the office of Lambardar are administrative in nature and not subject to judicial interference as a matter of right.