Sitting Panel: Sh. Riaz Ahmad, Mian Muhammad Ajmal and Syed Deedar Hussain Shah, JJ

Summary:

This case involves an appeal concerning a pre-emption suit where Mir Zaman and another (appellants/vendees) purchased land from the vendor. Qurban Hussain (respondent/pre-emptor) filed a suit claiming a superior right of pre-emption. During the pendency of this suit, a notification was issued on June 15, 1976, by the Central Board of Revenue, exempting sales of agricultural land in certain districts (including Rawalpindi, where the suit land was located) in favor of persons displaced due to the construction of Islamabad (oustees) from pre-emption rights for a period of two years. The appellants, being certified Islamabad oustees, sought to invoke this notification. The trial court initially decreed the suit in favor of the pre-emptor, but the Additional District Judge, on appeal, dismissed the suit, holding the notification applicable. The High Court, however, in revision, set aside the Additional District Judge’s decision, restoring the trial court’s decree.

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the High Court’s judgment and restoring the Additional District Judge’s dismissal of the suit. The Court firmly established that the right of pre-emption must exist not only at the time of sale and institution of the suit but also at the time the decree is passed. Upon the publication of the 1976 Notification, the right of pre-emption against sales to certified Islamabad oustees was extinguished. As no decree had been passed in favor of the pre-emptor before the notification’s publication, his right to sue ceased to exist, rendering the pre-emption suit infructuous. The Court emphasized that the notification’s effect was immediate upon publication, and its temporary nature did not revive the pre-emption right for pending suits where no decree had been finalized.

Download PDF