MUHAMMAD UMAR vs THE BOARD OF REVENUE
This petition for leave to appeal arose from a judgment of the Sind High Court, which dismissed a Constitution Petition filed by the petitioner challenging the transfer of property. The petitioner, a tenant of premises in Hyderabad, contested the transfer of the property by the Settlement Department to the respondent, Haji Islamuddin, arguing that the property was evacuee trust property and thus ineligible for transfer. This issue had been previously litigated through ejectment proceedings, where the Rent Controller and subsequent appellate forums rejected the petitioner's claims. The petitioner initiated a second round of litigation by petitioning the Chairman of the Evacuee Trust Property Board, which was also rejected. The Supreme Court reviewed the matter and found no grounds for interference, affirming the reasoning of the High Court. The Court held that the petitioner's contentions had been correctly adjudicated and rejected by the lower courts based on sound legal principles. Consequently, the petition for leave to appeal was dismissed, upholding the finality of the previous adjudications regarding the property's status and transfer.
- Can a tenant challenge the transfer of property by the Settlement Department after the property has been auctioned and a P.T.O. issued?
- Does the status of property as evacuee trust property invalidate a transfer made by the Settlement Department if the issue has been previously litigated and rejected?
- Is a constitutional petition maintainable to re-litigate issues regarding property status that have already been decided in rent control proceedings?
ORDER
1. ABDUL KADIR SHAIKH,J.--This is a petition for leave to appeal from the judgment of a Division Bench of Sind High Court dated 15-4-1985 dismissing a Constitution Petition filed by the petitioner.
2. Facts of the case briefly narrated are that petitioner is a tenant in respect of premises bearing City Survey No.139, Ward 'B', Shahi Bazar, Hyderabad. The property was transferred by the Settlement Department to Haji Islamuddin, respondent herein, in an auction held on 22-12-1960 and subsequently P.T.O. Was issued to the auction --purchaser on 5-10-1964. He afterwards on 14-9- 1968 filed an ejectment application against the petitioner on the ground of non-payment of rent which was allowed by the Rent Controller. In these proceedings petitioner, inter alia, contended that the property in question being an evacuee trust property should not be transferred to Haji Islamuddin but this plea was rejected by the Rent Controller.
3. Petitioner's appeal against the order of the Rent Controller was dismissed by the Sind High Court by the judgment dated 23-10-1984 and his petition for leave to appeal, being C.P.S.L.A. No.537-K of 1984, was also dismissed.
4. Petitioner then took up a second round of litigation by filing a petition before Chairman, Evacuee Trust Property Board for declaration that the property being an evacuee trust property could not be transferred by the Settlement Department to Haji Islamuddin, but this petition was also rejected. It was in these circumstances that petitioner filed the constitutional petition in Sind High Court which was dismissed as stated earlier.
5. After having heard the learned counsel for the petitioner in the light of the record we hardly find any scope for interference by this Court, for all the pleas raised by the learned counsel have been rejected by the learned Judges of the Division Bench for sound principles of law with which we entirely agree.
6. The petition is, therefore, dismissed.