SAIDUZZAMAN SIDDIQUI, J.---The petitioners are seeking leave to appeal against the judgment of a learned Judge in Chambers of Lahore High Court dated 19-12-1994 whereby F.A.O. No.34 of 1991 filed by the respondent was allowed and the decision of District Judge given on a petition under section 7 of West Pakistan Waqf Properties Ordinance. 1961 (hereinafter to be referred as the Ordinance only) was set aside with the result the petition filed by the petitioners before the District Judge under the Ordinance stood rejected.
2. The relevant facts of the case are that under notification dated 21-12-1960 the property which is subject-matter of this petition was acquired by the respondent as a Waqaf Property belonging to the Muslims. It is admitted before us that this very property was later transferred under the provisions of Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act. 1958 to the predecessor- in-interest of the petitioners and a P.T.D. Was issued to him on 17-5-1964. The petitioners' predecessor-in-interest, accordingly, filed an application under section 7 of the Ordinance on 16- 10-1967 which was accepted by the District Judge, Lahore, and it was held that the property was not a Waqf property. The decision of the District Judge was challenged by the Chief Administrator of Auqaf in F.A.O. No.34 of 1991 before Lahore High Court which was allowed by a learned Judge in Chambers, giving rise to the present petition.
3. The learned Judge in Chambers accepted F.A.O. Filed by the respondent and set aside the judgment of the District Judge mainly on the ground that the petition under section 7 of the Ordinance was not filed within 30 days of the notification as required under the Ordinance. In seeking leave to appeal,. The learned counsel for the petitioner firstly, contended that this period of 30 days could not be applied in the present case as the property itself was transferred in favour of predecessor-of-petitioners about 4 years after the notification treating it as an evacuee property, was issued. It is, accordingly, contended by the learned counsel for the petitioners that the property having been acquired under the compensation pool constituted under the provisions of Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1958, the same could not be acquired by respondent as a Waqf property under the Ordinance. The contentions raised by the learned counsel for the petitioners require examination and we, accordingly, I grant leave to appeal to consider the same.