LAHORE: The Lahore High Court Bahawalpur bench has dismissed Civil Revision Petition filed by the Hamza Sugar Mills (Pvt) Limited, Rahim Yar Khan versus the Province of the Punjab for justifying the possession of 800 kanal state land.
Justice Ibadur Rehman Lodhi of the Lahore High Court heard the said petition. The petitioner too up the plea to justify possession of the state land (800 kanal at Mohal Chak No.1/P, tehsil Khanpur, district Rahim Yar Khan), which was to the effect that the said land adjacent to the Hamza Sugar Mills was barren, un-cultivable and waste and the petitioner took the land into his possession and same was developed by investing a huge amount of its own. The petitioner also challenged the judgments of trial courts qua assessment of the market value plus imposition of 10 percent surcharge.
The law officers, present in the court, told that the same matter was also taken in this court and the court referred the matter to the senior member, Board of Revenue, Punjab, Lahore, with the consent of both the parties. The senior member, Board of Revenue, after a detailed exercise has furnished a report assessing the market value of the land, in question, but after going through such report, the petitioner backed out from its earlier commitment and objected to the assessment made by the senior member, Board of Revenue.
On this, the Court declared that there was no concluded agreement in between the parties and plaintiff remained in illegal and unauthorized occupation over the State land. The Court also observed that the petitioner wants to continue its illegal possession over the state land and at the same time has no intention to pay even a single penny either towards penalty or at least compensation for use and un-authorized occupation of the state land. The Court dismissed the petition and allowed the revenue authorities to re-enter the possession of the state land encroached upon by the plaintiff and amount of penalty, whichever has been assessed by the revenue authorities, be recovered from the plaintiff, as arrears of the land revenue.
