MAULVI ANWARUL HAQ, J.---This judgment shall decide Writ Petitions Nos,11886 of 1995. 11885 of 1995 and Writ Petition No,11884 of 1995 as common questions are involved.
2. The petitioner in Writ Petition No,11884 of 1995 was the declarant under M.L.R. 115 while the petitioners in the remaining two writ petitions have purchased the land sold by him. The transactions made by the said declarant in favour of the said vendees were disclosed by him in his declaration form. These transactions were found to be bona fide by the Land Commissioner, Bahawalpur Division vide his order dated 12-6-1972. The said declarant was also given benefit of 2000 P.I:Us. against his tractor. The matter was taken up in suo motu revision by the Chairman, Federal Land Commission. The proceedings were pending when Land Reforms Act, 1977 was promulgated and under section 25 of the said Act the said proceedings abated. The Federal Government. however, proceeded to issue a notification dated 23-9-1978 declaring that the proceedings shall, not be considered to have abated. The said notification was declared ultra vires of the powers of the Federal Government by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the case of Federal Land Commission through its Senior Member, Islamabad v. Sher Muhammad and others (PLD 1990 SC 626). In the meantime the Senior Member, Federal Land Commission proceeded to pass order dated 22-1-1979 and held that the declarant is not entitled to exemption on account of tractor and the Deputy Land Commissioner was directed to call upon the declarant to lead evidence in support of the fact of purchase of tractor. The transactions made in favour of the said vendees were also held not to be bona fide. The matter was accordingly remanded to the Deputy Land Commissioner to re-assess the holding of the declarant and to resume any area which may become resumable as a result of the said assessment. Against this order the petitioners in these cases filed writ petitions which were heard at Bahawalpur Bench of this Court by a learned Division Bench. All these writ petitions were allowed on 21-11-1993 and the said order of the Senior Member, Federal Land Commission was set aside as having been passed without lawful authority and of no legal effect.
3. Thereafter, the Federal Government issued notifications on 8-3-1995 declaring that the cases of the present petitioners shall not stand abated under section 25 of the Land Reforms Act, 1977. The result is that a notice has been issued to the petitioners by the Chairman, Federal Land Commission for hearing of the said suo motu revisions.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioners contends that in the interregnum judgment of the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the case of Qazalbash Waqf and others v. Chief Land Commissioner, Punjab, Lahore and others (PLD 1990 SC 99) has taken effect on 23-3-1990 and all the relevant provisions of M.L.R. 115 and the Land Reforms Act, 1977 have been declared to be repugnant to the Injunctions of Islam. According to the learned counsel no decisive step has been taken so far and as such the said notification and the impugned notices issued pursuant thereto and the proceedings proposed to be taken are nullity in the eye of law. No one has turned up for the respondents despite the fact that they have been served. They are accordingly proceeded against ex pane.
5. It is a matter of record that at no stage any land was either. resumed by the Federal Government or surrendered by the declarant. In other words the land never vested in the Federal Government either within the meaning of M.L.R. 115 or the said Land Reforms Act, 1977. Even in the order dated 22- 1-1979 that was impugned and then set aside by this Court, the only direction was for re assessm ent of the holding of the declarant. The earlier notification was declared to be void by the Supreme Court of Pakistan while the said order was set aside by this Court and by the time the said second notification was issued in the year 1995 and pursuant thereto the impugned notice was issued by the Chairman, Federal Land Commission, the said provisions authorizing the Federal Government to resume or to take over land of a citizen under the said M.L.R. and the said Act stood declared repugnant to Injunctions of Islam w,e,f, 21-3-1990. Lately the Supreme Court of Pakistan has considered the matter in the case of Chief Land Commissioner, Punjab and others v. Chief Administrator of Auqafe, Punjab and others PLD 1998 SC 132 and it has been held that where any decisive step had not been taken and the land has not vested in the Federal Government within the meaning of M.L.R.115 or the Land Reforms Act, 1977, the said judgment in Qazalbash case shall take effect and the proceedings would be void.
6. For all that has been discussed above all these writ petitions are allowed and the said notifications dated 8-3-1995 and the notice issued by the Chairman, Federal Land Commission are declared to be without lawful authority and as such void. No orders as to costs.