The Islamabad High Court has set aside its 2022 judgment declaring Pakistan Naval Farms and Pakistan Navy Sailing Club illegal.
A division bench announced the decision on Wednesday after hearing intra-court appeals against the earlier ruling.
The bench comprised Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas and Justice Shahrukh Arjumand. It also nullified several directions issued under the previous judgment concerning the sailing club and naval officers.
The earlier ruling had ordered the demolition of the Pakistan Navy Sailing Club along Rawal Lake. It had also directed the initiation of misconduct and criminal proceedings against former naval chief Admiral (retd) Zafar Mahmood Abbasi.
However, the division bench has now set aside those directions.
Court nullifies directions over Naval Farms
The IHC division bench also cancelled the direction concerning an alleged loss to the national exchequer. The earlier judgment had directed the Auditor General of Pakistan to assess the alleged loss. It had further ordered recovery of the amount from officers held responsible.
The division bench has now nullified that direction as well. The court also set aside the order declaring the transfer of Naval Farms to the Pakistan Navy illegal.
Additionally, it nullified the direction to transfer the land in the name of the headquarters office.
The appeals were filed by the Ministry of Defence, Admiral (retd) Abbasi and other affected parties. They challenged the 2022 judgment issued by the single bench.
Defence ministry challenges original petition
During the hearing, Sardar Ahmed Jamal Sukhera represented the federation and Ministry of Defence.
He argued that the original petition primarily concerned notices issued by Pakistan Naval Farms. Those notices related to alleged violations of building bylaws.
Sukhera told the court that the Directorate of PN Farms had contacted the Capital Development Authority in 2020.
The directorate informed the CDA that Naval Farms had to follow building bylaws under its NOC. Following this, notices were issued to residents over alleged violations.
The CDA was also informed and asked to take appropriate action. According to the counsel, Naval Farms later informed residents about the implementation of CDA building bylaws. The implementation was to take effect immediately.
Counsel says main grievance had already been addressed
Sukhera argued that these developments occurred in 2020, before the 2022 judgment. Therefore, he maintained that the main grievance raised in the original petition had already been addressed.
He further argued that the later judgment contained findings against the armed forces. According to him, those findings were baseless and lacked support from the available evidence.
The counsel also relied on Supreme Court precedents during his arguments. He maintained that courts should not decide matters beyond what is necessary to resolve a dispute.
Maintainability of petition also challenged
Sukhera also challenged the maintainability of the petition after an amendment was allowed. The amendment introduced objections concerning the existence of the sailing club.
He argued that public-interest litigation could not continue where the petitioner had a personal interest. According to his argument, the record indicated that Zeenat Salim had such an interest.
In another appeal, Sukhera challenged the earlier judgment on procedural grounds. He argued that the ruling violated natural justice, due process and fair trial principles.
Club members were not given notice, counsel argues
The counsel pointed out that the earlier judgment affected the vested interests of more than 100 club members. However, he argued that none of those members received notices.
He further said they were not impleaded as necessary parties in the proceedings. Sukhera also highlighted proceedings involving a petition filed by Nasir Ali.
He pointed out that no notice had been issued to the respondent in that petition. Therefore, he argued that the judgment was legally unsustainable.
Former naval chief Admiral (retd) Zafar Mahmood Abbasi also submitted additional evidence. The evidence was presented in support of the appeals filed against the earlier judgment.
IHC finds due process violations
After hearing the arguments, the division bench examined the record before reaching its decision. The court held that principles of natural justice, due process and fair trial had been violated.
The affected parties had neither received notices nor received an opportunity to present their case. The court also found that necessary parties had not been impleaded.
Consequently, the division bench allowed the intra-court appeals. It then set aside the findings and directions contained in the single-bench judgment.
What does the latest IHC ruling change?
The latest decision nullifies the earlier declaration that Pakistan Naval Farms and Pakistan Navy Sailing Club were illegal. It also removes the order directing demolition of the sailing club.
Furthermore, proceedings against Admiral (retd) Zafar Mahmood Abbasi and other officers stand nullified.
The directions concerning assessment and recovery of alleged losses to the national exchequer have also been set aside. The ruling therefore reverses the key findings and directions issued by the single bench in 2022.
Ashtar Ausaf, Sardar Ahmed Jamal Sukhera and Abdul Wahid Qureshi appeared for the appellants.
The additional attorney general, assistant attorney general and CDA counsel represented the federation and other respondents.
