Grand Hyatt Hotel: IHC upholds verdict declaring land lease as illegal

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday dismissed the appeals and upheld the judgment that declared land lease for the under-construction building meant for Grand Hyatt Hotel at One Constitution Avenue illegal.

Among the list of the 240 flats owners, there are many big names including Prime Minister Imran Khan, former chief justice Nasirul Mulk, Ehsan Mani, Kashmala Tariq, former governor Muhammad Ashraf Wathra, former Pemra chairman Absar Alam, former naval chief Muhammad Asif Sandila, former foreign secretary Salman Bashir, Lt Gen (R) Ahsan Azhar Hayat, actress Faryal Gauhar, former defence minister Ahmed Mukhtar etc.

Around 27 purchasers, including Imran Khan, filed petition against decision of the IHC single bench which terminated the contract of land lease and sealed the building. A division bench of the IHC comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani on Monday upheld the single bench’s judgment of March 3, 2017, which endorsed the Capital Development Author8ity’s decision to terminate lease agreement for M/S BNP (Private) Limited.

A CDA board on July 29, 2016 had cancelled the 99 years lease of land to the BNP that was leased out on March 9, 2005. The CDA board while cancelling the lease had said “the construction of main component hotel tower has not yet commenced, approval of plan expired in 2013, revised plans were not submitted as per approved format of authority and serviced apartments were sold out to general public”.

The BNP then assailed the lease cancellation before the IHC, but an IHC single bench comprising Justice Athar Minallah on March 3, 2017 endorsed the CDA decision, saying that the construction of the residential apartments on the said plot and the purported sale thereof is illegal, void and in flagrant abuse and violation of the Ordinance of 1960 read with the Zoning Regulations, Building Regulations and the Building Control Regulations.