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2001 SCMR 138

Mst. SURRAYA BEGUM and 3 others vs ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER and others

Citation2001 SCMR 138
CourtSupreme Court of Pakistan
Case No.Civil Petitions Nos.1994-L to 1997-L of 1999
Date2000-07-27
Judge(s)Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Munir A. Sheikh
ResultPetitions dismissed

' MUNIR A. SHEIKH, J.---By this judgment, we propose to decide Civil Petitions Nos.1994-L to 1997-L of 1999, as questions of law and facts are common in all of them.

2. Land measuring 1 Kanal in each case was purchased by the petitioners in these petitions through separate sale-deeds which was admittedly agricultural land. In the sale-deeds, it was recited that it had been purchased for construction of houses by each petitioner. The respondents who were admittedly the tenants of the said land filed suits before the Revenue Court to pre-empt the said sales in each case under paragraph 25 of the M.L.R. 115 having first right of pre-emption to the exclusion of the others. The suits were decreed by the Revenue Court through order, dated 12-4- 1982 which has been upheld up to the Board of Revenue and the Constitutional petitions filed by the petitioners have also failed, which were dismissed through the impugned judgment, dated 15- 9-1999 by the High Court, against which leave to *appeal has been sought.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioners frankly admitted that no doubt the land when sold was agricultural land and the respondents were tenants qua the said land but argued that the suits were not maintainable, for it has been provided in paragraph 24 of M.L.R. 115 that where a piece of land of 1 Kanal was purchased or sold for the purposes of construction of house, the tenants in possession thereof could be evicted by a shorter procedure by issuing them notice for vacating the premises instead of following the complete procedure of their eviction as provided in the said paragraph from the agricultural land, therefore, the intention of law was that sale of such a land which was purchased by the vendee for the purposes of construction of house bona fidely was not subject to right of pre-emption.

4. We are afraid, the argument is plainly unsound, for if this was the intention, it could be expressed by the lawmakers by making a provision to that effect in paragraph 25 of M.L.R. 115 which deals with the right of preemption of tenant of agricultural land.

5. No other point was argued.

6. For the foregoing reasons, the impugned judgment, dated 15-9-1999 of the High Court and Court below do not suffer from any illegality or jurisdictional defect, therefore, these petitions have no merits which are accordingly dismissed and leave to appeal refused.

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