PAKISTAN through Chairman, Railway Board vs KHUDA BAKHSH and 7 others
The respondents filed a civil suit seeking a declaration of ownership regarding disputed land measuring 5 kanals and 6 marlas located in District Bahawalnagar, claiming purchase through a public auction from the District Collector followed by an attested mutation. The Federal Government in the Railways Department contested the ownership, presenting the matter as a title dispute between the Federal and Provincial Governments. The core legal question centered on whether the courts below erred in relying upon the mutation register rather than examining the conveyance deed, given that the Transfer of Property Act was in force in the former Bahawalpur State. The Supreme Court of Pakistan granted leave to appeal, holding that the lower courts failed to examine the crucial aspect of the conveyance deed under the applicable law. The key principle laid down is that in regions where the Transfer of Property Act applies, the conveyance deed must be scrutinized to determine title rather than relying solely on mutation entries.
- Whether the courts below erred in relying upon the mutation register instead of examining the conveyance deed?
- Is a conveyance deed required to be examined when the Transfer of Property Act is in force?
- How is a title dispute between the Federal Government and Provincial Government regarding auctioned land to be determined?
- Transfer of Property Act 1882
ORDER
1. ' SHAFIUR RAHMAN, J.--The respondents as plaintiffs sought a declaration that they were owners of the disputed land measuring 5 kanals, 6 marlas in Chak No,124/6-R, Tehsil Haroonabad, District Bahawalnagar. Their claim was on the fact that they have purchased the land in auction from the Collector of the District. A mutation to that effect had been attested. The Federal Government in the Railways Department claimed the land as theirs. It was, therefore, basically a dispute over title between the Federal Government and the Provincial Government. Besides, in the former Bahawalpur State, Transfer of Property Act was in force and, therefore, the conveyance deed by which the property was sold to the respondents should have been looked into rather than the mutation register and the entries thereof.
2. ' All the three Courts have not attended to this aspect of the case and it appears that it is necessary to examine this aspect for which leave to appeal is granted. Security shall be Rs,2,500.
3. ' Leave to .