The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday referred a batch of petitions challenging the Punjab Protection of Ownership Property Ordinance 2025 to a larger bench and issued stay orders on all proceedings under the law.
The court also issued notices to the Punjab government and other respondents and sought complete records of actions taken by the committees constituted under the ordinance.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, the petitions raise serious questions regarding the legality of the committees’ functioning and their authority to order possession of disputed properties.
Chief Justice Aalia Neelum observed that every file must be examined carefully to assess what the law allows and how the committees are implementing it.
She noted that in several cases, the committees had facilitated possession despite subsisting stay orders, even though Section 8 of the ordinance does not empower them to hand over possession.
The chief justice further questioned claims that possession was being granted with the consent of both parties, asking why such matters were being brought before the High Court if there was mutual agreement.
During the hearing, the chief justice asked the Punjab government’s law officer whether rules under the ordinance had been framed. The Assistant Advocate General informed the court that the rules were yet to be notified.
Expressing concern, Chief Justice Neelum remarked that in the absence of rules, it was unclear how proceedings under the ordinance could legally continue.
She also questioned whether the ordinance authorised the PERA Force to assist the government in enforcing possession. The court directed the provincial law officer to present detailed answers to these judicial queries before the larger bench.
Counsel for the petitioners argued that the committees were disregarding civil court orders despite being shown them.
Yesterday, the Lahore High Court (LHC) suspended the enforcement of the Punjab Protection of Ownership of Immovable Property Ordinance, 2025, and ordered the immediate reversal of all property possessions carried out across the province under the law, raising serious constitutional concerns over the law’s implementation.
Hearing a series of petitions challenging the ordinance, LHC Chief Justice Miss Aalia Neelum strongly criticised the legislation, declaring the petitions admissible and issuing notices to all parties while seeking their responses.
The Chief Justice also removed objections raised by the LHC registrar’s office and ordered the formation of a full bench to hear all challenges to the law.
During the proceedings, Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman appeared before the court on judicial orders. Addressing him directly, the Chief Justice said the Act had effectively stripped citizens of their civil rights, remarking that it would have been preferable to suspend the Constitution altogether rather than enforce such a law.
The Chief Justice questioned the credibility of property documentation processes, stating that fake registrations and records had become routine. She observed that under the law, a single complaint could lead to police-assisted evictions ordered by deputy commissioners, saying that even Jati Umra [a residence of the ruling Sharif family] would also not be safe if a petition for its ownership was filed by anyone.
Justice Neelum also raised sharp questions about the role of revenue officials, including assistant commissioners, deputy commissioners, and patwaris, asking whether the same officials accused of issuing false documents should be entrusted with handing over possession of properties. She further asked whether district administrators were being placed above the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC).
The court expressed particular concern over dispute resolution committees established under the law, questioning their legal standing and authority to determine property ownership. The Chief Justice asked why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against these committees found to have abused their powers.
Justice Neelum said the ordinance undermined the powers of civil judges working under the Pakistan Penal Code and the Civil Procedure Code, adding that judges were already functioning under significant pressure.
She also directly questioned the secretary why he continued to defend the law despite granting sweeping powers to revenue authorities. Referring to pending contempt cases against deputy commissioners and district police officers, she asked whether such officials could be trusted to carry out lawful enforcement.
The Chief Justice concluded by remarking that courts decide cases with reason, not emotion, and expressed concern that under the present framework, even the homes of sitting judges might not remain secure.
The Punjab government introduced the Punjab Protection of Ownership of Immovable Property Ordinance, 2025, a landmark law effective in late 2025, to combat land grabbing with severe penalties (5-10 years in jail) and fast-track dispute resolution (90 days) through District Dispute Resolution Committees (DRCs).
Reacting to the suspension of the ordinance, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz Sharif expressed displeasure in a statement issued yesterday and warned in the statement that the LHC’s decision would benefit land-grab mafias and undermine public confidence in the justice system.
The chief minister said the court’s decision was not in line with established principles set by the superior judiciary. She argued that the suspension of the law would be seen by the public as backing land mafias while dealing a blow to the hopes of poor and oppressed citizens seeking justice.
CM Maryam said the legislation had been designed to provide comprehensive legal and administrative protection to vulnerable citizens and had, for the first time, empowered people to safeguard their legally owned land and property.
She stressed that lawmaking was a constitutional right of the provincial assembly and could not be curtailed.
Highlighting the significance of the law, she said it introduced a 90-day timeframe for deciding land and property disputes that had historically dragged on for years and even generations.
She added that land cases often remained subject to stay orders for decades and that the new law was drafted on the basis of evidence to address longstanding injustices.
The chief minister said the legislation was enacted to assist millions of people across Punjab who had suffered for decades at the hands of powerful land mafias.
She clarified that the law was not intended for her personal benefit, nor had its suspension caused her any personal loss.
Instead, she said, the real damage would be borne by poor, destitute, helpless and oppressed citizens, including widows, whose cases were finally being addressed under the new legal framework.
She said that halting the law would shatter the fragile hope of justice that many vulnerable citizens had begun to feel.
