Legal Case Summary

Case Details
Case ID 67cff113-7e9d-4aa7-a11f-55c113336227
Body View case body.
Case Number Civil Suit No.794 of 1999
Decision Date Oct 18, 2001
Hearing Date
Decision The court ruled that the plaint filed by the plaintiff was rejected on the grounds that the plaintiff had not exhausted the available remedies under the Sindh Public Property (Removal of Encroachment) Act, 1975. The court highlighted that the jurisdiction of the Civil Court was not readily inferred to be barred unless expressly stated. It was established that the plaintiff's claims regarding ownership and possession of the land were to be evaluated through the appropriate legal channels provided by the statute rather than through immediate civil litigation. The court emphasized the importance of following the statutory mechanisms before approaching the court, thus declaring the suit premature and without cause of action.
Summary In the case of Civil Suit No.794 of 1999, the Sindh High Court addressed a dispute involving the Karachi Development Authority and Kanwar Qutubuddin Khan regarding the ownership and encroachment of public property. The plaintiff claimed ownership of land originally leased to his mother for poultry farming, which was later converted for industrial use. The legal challenge arose when the plaintiff received a notice from the defendant ordering him to remove alleged encroachments. The court examined the procedural aspects of the Civil Procedure Code (V of 1908), particularly the provisions concerning the rejection of plaints and the jurisdiction of civil courts versus specialized tribunals. The decision underlined the necessity for parties to exhaust statutory remedies before filing civil suits, thereby reinforcing the established legal principle that a party must utilize available legal remedies before resorting to litigation. This case serves as a significant reference point in civil procedure and property law within Pakistan, emphasizing the importance of jurisdictional clarity and the procedural prerequisites for legal action.
Court Sindh High Court
Entities Involved Not available
Judges MUHAMMAD MOOSA K. LEGHARI, J
Lawyers Hafiz Abdul Baqi, Nazar Hussain Dhoon
Petitioners KANWAR QUTUBUDDIN KHAN
Respondents KARACHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY through Director GENERAL
Citations 2002 SLD 1846, 2002 CLC 634
Other Citations Tariq Transport Co., Lahore v. Sargodha-Bhera Bus Service, Sargodha and 2 others PLD 1958 SC (Pak.) 437, Shagufta Begum v. The Income-tax Officer, Circle XI, Zone-B, Lahore PLD 1989 SC 360, Government of Sindh and others v. Mst. Najma 2001 SCMR 8
Laws Involved Civil Procedure Code (V of 1908), Sindh Public Property (Removal of Encroachment) Act, 1975
Sections O. VII, R.11, S. 9