Sufi MUHAMMAD DIN through Legal Heirs vs ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONER and others
This matter concerns a petition for leave to appeal before the Supreme Court of Pakistan regarding the classification of land for the purpose of allotment in lieu of claims for agricultural land left in India. The core legal question presented for examination is whether a specific parcel of land, recorded as 'Banjar Qadeem godown' in the Jamabandi for 1944-45 and situated within the built-up area of Municipal limits, could be legally classified as agricultural land. The petitioner challenges the lower authority's treatment of this land as agricultural, implying that its urban location and historical revenue record description as a godown should preclude such classification. The Supreme Court granted leave to appeal to resolve this classification dispute, thereby determining whether the nature of the land, as evidenced by revenue records and its physical surroundings, disqualifies it from being allotted under the relevant rehabilitation or settlement schemes governing agricultural land claims. The court's eventual holding will clarify the criteria for determining the character of land in such allotment proceedings.
- Can land recorded as 'Banjar Qadeem godown' in revenue records and situated within municipal limits be classified as agricultural land for allotment purposes?
- Does the location of land within municipal limits and its historical use as a godown preclude its classification as agricultural land for settlement claims?
ORDER
1. MUHAMMAD RAFIQ TARAR, J. ---Leave to appeal is granted to examine inter alia whether the land in dispute which as per entries in the Revenue Record was shown Banjar Qadeem godown even in the Jamabandi for 1944-45 and was surrounded by built-up area within Municipal limits could justifiably be treated as agricultural land available for allotment in lieu of claim of agricultural land left in India.