MUHAMMAD YOUSIF and another vs PROVINCE OF SINDH and others

This matter concerns a petition for leave to appeal against a High Court judgment which held that a civil suit challenging an order of a Settlement Authority was not maintainable. The petitioners had filed a suit for declaration and injunction, contending that the Settlement Authority's order cancelling their land allotment was void because it was issued after the repeal of the Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act, 1958, by the Evacuee Property and Displaced Persons Laws (Repeal) Act, 1975. The Supreme Court observed that the High Court's finding regarding the non-maintainability of the suit was prima facie unsustainable, citing established precedents which suggest that such challenges are cognizable by civil courts. Consequently, the Court granted leave to appeal, confirmed the existing interim order, and directed that the appeal be prepared on the current record with liberty for parties to submit additional documents. The core principle affirmed is that civil courts retain jurisdiction to examine the validity of administrative orders passed by authorities under repealed statutes when such orders are challenged as void.