ISLAMABAD, Oct 30 (APP):Federal Constitutional Court (FCCP) has ruled that final decisions by revenue and consolidation authorities regarding land distribution and allotment cannot be reopened merely on the basis of disputes over land identification or khasra numbers.
Dismissing a woman’s petition concerning ownership of land on which a girls’ school was built in Bhakkar, the court also held that an executing cannot not amend a final decree or go beyond its scope.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah and Justice Rozi Khan Barrech ruled that repeatedly raising the same dispute through different judicial proceedings was impermissible and that final court decisions must be respected.
The petitioner, Anwari, claimed that a girls’ school in Shah Alam Dagar village of Kallur Kot tehsil, Bhakkar district, had been constructed on her land instead of the three kanals and 16 marlas donated by Shera Khan for the purpose.
During the proceedings, land consolidation in the area was completed, and the petitioner challenged the process before various forums, eventually reaching the Supreme Court. The apex court had held that land redistribution and re-allotment primarily fell within the jurisdiction of consolidation authorities, whose decisions could not ordinarily be interfered with by courts.
The FCCP observed that the consolidation proceedings had finally determined the petitioner’s land rights and ownership, without reducing her overall landholding.
It further held that constitutional jurisdiction was not meant to provide another forum for reopening factual matters already decided by competent authorities. A final decision could only be reopened in cases involving fraud, mistake or lack of jurisdiction.
Finding no illegality, legal defect or misreading of evidence in the decisions of the lower forums, the court dismissed the petition and declined leave to appeal.
Source: APP (Associated Press of Pakistan)
