LAHORE MUNICIPAL CORPORATION vs AKBAR ALI AKHTAR and another

This matter arises from a petition for leave to appeal filed by the Lahore Municipal Corporation against the respondents, Akbar Ali Akhtar and another, challenging a judgment of the lower forum. The core legal question concerned whether the reliefs and declaration granted to the plaintiff-respondents provided blanket protection to unauthorized constructions or if municipal authorities retained statutory powers over them. The Supreme Court of Pakistan declined to grant leave to appeal, holding that the petitioner had already been granted sufficiently effective relief in the final paragraph of the impugned judgment. The Court clarified that the declaration and reliefs awarded to the respondents were explicitly subject to provisos stating that the decree would not protect unauthorized structures, that the respondents must obtain sanction from the competent authority before any future construction, and that the Lahore Municipal Corporation remained fully competent to demolish unauthorized structures in accordance with the law. The key principle laid down is that judicial decrees protecting a party's rights do not legitimize unauthorized structures and do not oust the statutory authority of municipal corporations to demolish illegal constructions in accordance with the law.