1994 SCMR 1630

GOVERNMENT OF PUNJAB through Secretary, Local Government & Rural

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Citation1994 SCMR 1630

CourtSupreme Court of Pakistan

Case No.Civil Petitions for Leave to Appeal Nos. 853-L and 856-L of 1992 P.L. A. No,

Date1993-12-20

Judge(s)Sajjad Ali Shah, Saad Saood Jan

Authored bySaad Saood Jan

ResultLeave granted

Summary

This matter concerns the procedural propriety of a High Court recording a compromise between parties on a miscellaneous application after the final disposal of the main constitutional petition. The core legal question before the Supreme Court of Pakistan was whether the High Court possessed the jurisdiction to extend the duration of a contract between parties through such a compromise order post-adjudication of the primary petition. The Supreme Court, noting that leave to appeal had already been granted in a connected matter (Civil Appeal No. 712 of 1992) regarding the same legal issue, determined that the instant petitions raised identical questions of law. Consequently, the Court granted leave to appeal in these petitions and directed that they be heard concurrently with the aforementioned Civil Appeal. The decision underscores the principle that procedural mechanisms, such as miscellaneous applications, cannot be utilized to circumvent the finality of a judgment or to substantively alter contractual terms once the main litigation has been concluded by the High Court.

Questions settled in this judgment

Can a High Court record a compromise between parties on a miscellaneous application after the main constitutional petition has been disposed of?
Is it permissible for a High Court to extend the period of a contract between parties through a compromise order after the final disposal of the main petition?

constitutional petitioncompromise decreecontractual extensionprocedural proprietyleave to appealHigh Court jurisdiction

ORDER

1. SAAD SAOOD JAN, J.---The question for consideration in these petitions is if after the disposal of the main Constitution petition it was open to the High Court to record a compromise between the parties on a mere miscellaneous application and thus extend the period of contract between the parties. It is stated that leave has already been granted to consider this question in Civil Petition No, 297 of 1992 (now Civil Appeal No, 712 of 1992) Government of the Punjab v. Muhammad Sher Bahadur. In the circumstances, leave to appeal is also granted in these two petitions. These should be heard together with Civil Appeal No, 712 of 1992.