The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday allowing the petitions filed by different co-operative housing societies quashed the process initiated by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) for the acquisition of petitioner-societies’ land for its scheme, LDA Avenue-I.
“The notifications issued earlier under Section 4 and then under Section 17(4) read with Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1984, are set-aside,” the court ordered.
Justice Ibadur Rehman Lodhi passed the orders on petition filed by Chiniot Co-operative Housing Society, Islamic Research Scholars Cooperative Housing Society, Electrical & Mechanical Engineers (EME) Cooperative Housing Society, The Punjab Board of Revenue Employees Co-operative Housing Society and Punjab Civil Secretariat Employees Cooperative Housing Society who had challenged acquisition of their more than 1200-kanals land for LDA Avenue-I scheme.
The court had reserved the verdict after hearing arguments of parties and it was announced yesterday (Friday).
The court in its detailed judgment held that the respondent authorities were acquiring the land for public purpose which is the basic and necessary ingredient for acquisition of any land.
The members of the petitioners’ societies who are salaried persons could not have been ousted from consideration to be a member of a class of public.
“As such, the landed property already arranged for their residential purposes, cannot be taken back to the disadvantage to such needy people in order to accommodate the members of the LDA scheme, who are better placed than that of the members of the petitioners’ societies, if not similarly placed in the social set up”, the court added.
“Societies and also the contributor to LDA Avenue-I, and once the petitioners have accommodated their members for the purpose of extending residential accommodation to them, they cannot be deprived of such benefit simply in order to accommodate the members of LDA Avenue-I, which is not the intention of even the acquisition law. The members of the petitioners’ societies are protected to be dealt with under Co-operative Societies Act, 1925,” the court added.
Earlier, the petitioners’ counsel arguing before the court submitted that the societies acquired land for accommodating residential needs of their members. The land already reserved for providing shelter, could not be acquired in the garb of public purpose, he added. He further submitted that specific societies were exempted from the process which was a discriminatory step. He pleaded the court to set aside the acquisition process for acquiring land of the societies.
However, LDA’s counsel submitted that the schemes prepared, announced and undertaken by the petitioners, were not validly sanctioned schemes by the LDA and unless there was a sanction or approval by the LDA, no such scheme can be continued in the area fall within the control of LDA.
He further said that the LDA was acquiring the land for Public purpose and it would have a preferential right to be considered on a better footing than that of the petitioners’ societies to acquire the land for the purposes of establishing a housing scheme. He pleaded the court to dismiss the petitions.