HAMID NAWAZ

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court held that civil court has no jurisdiction to decide any case pertaining to evacuee property and if any decree is passed by it that would be void and nullify in the eyes of law.

The court, however, observed that the sale of land by Muslim to non-Muslim does not suffer from any infirmity or illegality.

The court passed these observations on a petition of Najib Aslam and declared that a decree issued by the respondent court on April 1952 as void and inexecutable.

The court directed the chief settlement commissioner, Punjab, and senior member Board of Revenue, Lahore, to look into the matter and take necessary action in accordance with law.

The court also directed the office to dispatch copies of the court orders as well as its all annexures to the concerned authorities.

According to the details, Muhammad Aslam and Ch Fazal Muhammad were owners of land measuring 219 Kanal 09 Marla situated at Faisalabad. They sold out the said land in favour of S Dhana Singh, Nazar Singh and Sarwar Singh through a sale deed on June 05, 1944, and said sale transaction was given effect in the revenue record on August 18, 1944. The said vendees after creation of Pakistan migrated to India.

Respondent Khalid filed a suit for declaration on October 01, 1951, against his father and others challenging the validity of the sale deed on the ground that he was minor and the suit land was their ancestral property which under prevalent custom could not be sold out and he is entitled to get back the said land.