SC suspends BHC judgment on DHA Act

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended the judgment of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) that had declared several provisions of the DHA Act 2015 unconstitutional.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Qazi Amin Ahmed and Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi, granted leave to appeal to a petition filed by the Defence Housing Authority, Quetta, against the Balochistan High Court verdict. A full court of the Balochistan High Court comprising all its five judges had declared several provisions of the DHA Act 2015 unconstitutional. The High Court had declared that the DHA was like a non-government agency and, therefore, acquisition of property by it would violate the constitutional right to property. It had also held that the DHA could not be allowed to develop its own master plans or perform other municipal functions. The power of the Authority to declare a specified area in which development could be carried out was also held unconstitutional.