SHAHMAND And 5 Others vs ALLAH BAKHSH
This petition for special leave to appeal challenged a Lahore High Court judgment that affirmed lower court decisions in a pre-emption suit. The respondent, Allah Bakhsh, had successfully sued for pre-emption of agricultural land, asserting a preferential right as a collateral of the vendors. The petitioners, who were the original purchasers, contested the suit primarily by alleging that the respondent had waived his preferential right by refusing an offer to purchase the land before the sale occurred. The core legal question was whether the petitioners had sufficiently established the plea of waiver regarding the pre-emption right. The Supreme Court observed that the issue of whether an offer was made to the pre-emptor was a question of fact. Crucially, the respondent was not confronted with specific details regarding the alleged offer, such as the identity of the offerors, the location, or the timing of the offer, during cross-examination. Consequently, the Court held that the plea of waiver was unsubstantiated and essentially fabricated. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower courts' findings and refused to grant leave to appeal.
- Does the failure to confront a pre-emptor with specific details of an alleged waiver offer during cross-examination render the plea of waiver unsubstantiated?
- Is the question of whether an offer to purchase was made to a pre-emptor considered a question of fact?
ORDER
SAAD SAOOD JAN, J.---This is a petition for special leave to appeal from the judgment of the Lahore High Court, whereby the revision petition filed by the petitioner from the judgment of the Additional District Judge, Faisalabad, affirming the judgment of Civil Judge, Samundri, in a pre- emption suit, was dismissed.
2. Allah Bakhsh, predecessor-in-interest of the petitioners purchased 7 Kanals and 8 Marlas of agricultural land situate in Chak No.514/GB, Tehsil Samundri, from one Abdul Qadir and some others by a registered deed dated 7-2-1981. The respondent, Allah Bakhsh, brought a suit for pre- emption. He based his preferential right mainly on the ground that he was a collateral of the vendors. The suit was resisted by the petitioners who inter alia alleged that the respondent had waived his preferential right. The trial Court rejected the said plea and decreed the suit. Its decree was affirmed in first appeal by the Additional District Judge and the High Court declined to interfere with it in revisional jurisdiction. The petitioners now seek leave to appeal from this Court.
3. The main contention on behalf of the petitioners is that before purchasing the land they had made an offer to Allah Bakhsh to by the same but he declined to accept the offer on the ground that he was short of funds. It is to be noticed that the question whether any offer was made to the pre-emptor was one of fact. When he appeared in the witness-box he was not confronted with the details of the offer allegedly made to him; thus he was not asked about the person or persons who made the offer. He was also not questioned about the 1 place or the occasion where or when the offer was made. Quite obviously, it was a trumped up plea. The Courts below were, therefore, justified in holding that it had in substance. We would accordingly refuse to grant leave to appeal to the l petitioners.
Cited by 2 cases
- ALI ASGHAR vs SARDARA 2000 C.L.R. 1413
- ALI ASGHDR Versus SARDARA 2000 YLR 2493