LHC slaps Rs500,000 fine on Indian national for fraudulent land allotment in Pakistan

LHC slaps Rs500,000 fine on Indian national for fraudulent land allotment in Pakistan

LHC slaps Rs500,000 fine on Indian national for fraudulent land allotment in Pakistan

Lahore High Court building Photo: File

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LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday imposed an Rs500,000 fine on an Indian national for fraudulently getting land allotted in Pakistan.

A single-judge bench of the LHC issued a written decision on a petition filed by Abdul Rehman, an Indian citizen, against the cancellation of the land allotted to him by the chief settlement commissioner.

The judgment stated that Muhammad Umar, father of the petitioner, was a permanent resident of India and never migrated to Pakistan. It ruled that considering such a situation the petitioner could not be considered an evacuee person and was not entitled to any allotment in Pakistan.

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“And if he had obtained any allotment that was the result of manifest fraud, forgery and misrepresentation,” read the verdict.

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The bench also stated that the petitioners themselves are permanent residents of India therefore they are “legally debarred” to claim any allotment as evacuee persons.

The judge further ruled that the father of the petitioners namely Muhammad Umar died on June 28, 2002, in India.

“As propositus of petitioners had never migrated to Pakistan, and was not an evacuee person as such, petitioners who are Indian were not entitled for any allotment of evacuee land,” read the verdict.

The bench also stated that the alleged allotment in the name of Muhammad Umar was made on April 23, 1963, and was subsequently cancelled on July 20, 1964. It also stated that there was no record indicating that the said cancellation order was ever recalled or set aside by any competent forum.

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“The above facts demonstrate that the allotment has been obtained by the petitioners or their predecessor through fraud and misrepresentation. It is a settled law that fraud vitiates the most solemn proceedings and any edifice so raised on the basis of such fraudulent transaction, stood automatically dismantled and any ill-gotten gain achieved by committing fraud cannot be validated under any laws,” ruled the court.

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The court also declared the civil judge’s ruling that had declared the children of an Indian citizen as legal heirs of land in Pakistan as “illegal”.

“Legal heirs of Muhammad Umar, a citizen of India, cannot obtain an inheritance degree from any court of Pakistan,” said the court.

The petitioners had claimed that his father was allotted 23 Kanals and 9 marlas of land in Lahore Cantt as a refugee in 1955.

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According to the petitioner, till the death of his father, the land remained in his possession.

The civil court has also declared the petitioners Subhan Khan, Ilyas and Mst. Subhani as legal heirs of Muhammad Umar.

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However, the chief settlement commissioner cancelled the order. He had then approached the LHC to set aside the impugned order and restore his allotment.

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