Owner gets possession of plot after 36 years

ISLAMABAD: After almost 36 years of court battles, a man got possession of his land in Sector E-7 that according to him, was initially occupied by the two property dealers and later they sold it to a person whose son Muhammad Sohail is a lawyer.

The matter remained pending in all the courts from trial to Supreme Court and on November 14 IHC bench comprising Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui directed the district administration to get the house vacated within 15 days.

On December 8, a civil judge Shaista Kundi sent a bailiff to get the house vacated and successfully got possession of the land but next day, according to the petitioner, Muhammad Sohail advocate in connivance with his fellow lawyers reoccupied the house.

Abdul Sami then filed a petition before the court where his wife Faiza was the petitioner. On December 18 when this case was taken up by the court, it ordered the district administration to immediately get the house vacated and handed over possession to the petitioner. At this two lawyers from occupant side Muhammad Sohail and Gulbaz Mushtaq entered harsh discussion with the court and misbehaved with Justice Siddiqui. Justice Siddiqui then issued show cause notices to the lawyers saying why contempt of court proceedings might not be initiated against them.

During today's proceedings, Justice Siddiqui suspended licences of the two lawyers and ordered suspending their membership as the two did not appear before the court despite orders. IHC bench re-issued show cause notices to the two lawyers directing them to appear on January 9 or the court would direct for their arrest. Today, SHO of Margallah police station Asjad Mehmood and a magistrate appeared before the court and said that the plot had been vacated and handed over to the real owner. Owner Faiza's husband, Abdul Sami confirmed the possession and expressed his gratitude to the court.

Addressing Justice Siddiqui, Abdul Sami said that had there been judges like him, the poor and powerless would have got justice.

In an exclusive talk with this correspondent, Abdul Sami narrated the whole story and his struggle for the last nearly four decades. He said that he was a resident of Karachi. In 1981-82, Capital Development Authority (CDA) announced the development of sector E-7. From Karachi he applied for a plot in the name of his wife Faiza and paid the installments. The plot was allotted in 1982. Owing to distance between Karachi and Islamabad, it was not very convenient for the petitioner to come and see the land. In 1983 Abdul Sami came to know that his plot had been occupied and a house was built over his property. According to Sami, two property dealers Khalil Akhtar Bhatti and Jamil Akhtar Bhatti initially occupied the land. Impersonating some women as Faiza (Sami's wife), they obtained a power of attorney from a court to the name of one Muhammad Ali who was an employee to them. At the basis to that power of attorney they transferred the land to their name and later it was transferred to the name of Chaudhry Muhammad Salim whose son Muhammad Sohail is a lawyer.

In 1983 when the land was occupied, Abdul Sami filed a case with the civil court of Islamabad. A civil court in 1996 decided the matter in his favour. According to Abdul Sami, the occupants then filed an appeal before the court of additional sessions judge that was dismissed. Then they filed an appeal with the Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi bench and the appeal was also dismissed. So much so that the Supreme Court of Pakistan also dismissed their appeal, told Muhammad Sami to this correspondent. After that the occupants to linger on this issue filed a petition against him for committing fraud. After formation of IHC in 2010, the case was transferred here and the petitions remained pending.

Finally in November this year Justice Siddiqui took up this matter and directed the lower court to execute orders getting the land vacated from the occupants. The occupants resisted this effort and according to Abdul Sami, they even threatened him with dire consequences and also filed a complaint against him with the local police with allegations of assault. Abdul Sami said that in all those 36 years he had been travelling from Karachi to Islamabad to fight this legal battle and finally got the possession to which he is thankful to Allah.