' Messrs Eastern Carpets (Pak) Limited, 19-A, Cooper Road, Lahore, through Dr. Saleem Hamid Malik, its Director have instituted this petition before this Court praying that the action of the respondents Province of Punjab through its Secretary, Agriculture and Muhammad Afzal Malik, Director-General, Agriculture Department, 21, David Road, Lahore, encroaching upon the public street bearing Khasra No,5091 situated at Davis Road, Lahore may be declared without lawful authority and of no legal consequence. It is requested that the encroachment so made by the respondents may be ordered to be removed forthwith in the interest of justice. In other words, the case of the petitioner is that there exists a thoroughfare over the land in question and that the respondents have no authority to obstruct or interfere in the use of the said thoroughfare by the petitioner. The stand of the respondents is that there exists a passage and as such only the respondents are entitled to use and occupy it without any interference from any quarter. In order to know the factual position, a Commission consisting of three learned Members of the Bar was constituted. Learned Members of the Commission visited the spot in presence of the parties. They have placed on record a detailed report. The report of the Commission is that the passage in question is in fact a thoroughfare. The finding having been given by the learned Commission is based on documentary as well as oral evidence. Mr. Maqbool Elahi Malik, learned Advocate-General has opposed this petition on the ground that there is no sufficient evidence available on record to demonstrate that the passage in dispute is a thoroughfare. He further says that the respondents are in its exclusive possession.
2. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties at some length and have also read the whole record with utmost care. Annexure-B Massavi is undoubtedly a document of importance.
According to this document, the passage is a thoroughfare. This documentary evidence was not disputed by the learned Advocate-General. The report of the Local Commission, and Mussavi coupled with other documentary evidence, namely Annexure-A, Site Plan, Annexure-C Report of the Revenue Authorities and Annexure-D, letter from Chief Corporation Officer, LMC would show beyond doubt that the disputed passage was a thoroughfare. There is no evidence having been produced by the respondents to prove that the passage is not a thoroughfare. This being so, I do not feel any hesitation to declare the encroachment made by the respondents Nos.1 and 2 over the property in dispute without lawful authority and of no legal effect. The passage is accordingly declared to be a public thoroughfare. The encroachment shall have to be removed by the respondents. The petition succeeds and is allowed leaving the parties to bear their own costs.