Court Decision
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday overturned a 2022 judgment that declared the Pakistan Naval Farms and Pakistan Navy Sailing Club along Rawal Lake illegal. A division bench comprising Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas and Justice Shahrukh Arjumand allowed intra-court appeals filed against the single-bench ruling issued by then-chief justice Athar Minallah.
The bench set aside the declaration of illegality, nullified directions for the demolition of the sailing club, and quashed orders for misconduct and criminal proceedings against former naval chief Admiral (retd) Zafar Mahmood Abbasi and other officers. It also struck down directions to the Auditor General of Pakistan to assess alleged losses to the national exchequer and recover amounts from officials held responsible.
Additionally, the court nullified the order declaring the transfer of Naval Farms to the Pakistan Navy illegal, along with the direction to transfer the land in the name of the headquarters office.
Appeals and Arguments
The appeals were filed by the Ministry of Defence, Admiral (retd) Abbasi, and other affected parties, as reported by Dawn and The Nation. Senior lawyer Ashtar Ausaf represented Admiral (retd) Abbasi, while Sardar Ahmed Jamal Sukhera and Abdul Wahid Qureshi also appeared for the appellants. The federal government was represented by the Additional Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General, and counsel for the Capital Development Authority (CDA) also appeared before the court.
During the hearing, Sardar Ahmed Jamal Sukhera, counsel for the federation and the Ministry of Defence, argued that the original petition filed by Zeenat Salim primarily concerned notices issued by Pakistan Naval Farms over alleged violations of building bylaws. He submitted that in 2020, the Directorate of PN Farms had written to the CDA, informing it that under the NOC issued by the CDA, Naval Farms was required to comply with building bylaws. Consequently, notices were issued to concerned residents over alleged violations, while the CDA was also informed and requested to take appropriate action.
Sukhera contended that these developments had occurred in 2020, before the 2022 judgment, thereby addressing the principal grievance raised in the petition. He further argued that findings against the armed forces were baseless and unsupported by evidence, and relied on Supreme Court precedents to assert that a court should not decide matters beyond what is necessary to determine a dispute.
He also challenged the maintainability of the original petition, arguing that after an amendment allowed objections regarding the existence of the sailing club, public-interest litigation could not be maintained where the petitioner had a personal interest. The record showed that Zeenat Salim had such an interest, he claimed.
In another appeal, Sukhera argued that the earlier judgment had been passed in violation of the principles of natural justice, due process, and a fair trial. He noted that the judgment affected more than 100 club members, yet none had been issued notices or impleaded as necessary parties. He also submitted that no notice had been issued to the respondent in a petition filed by Nasir Ali.
Court's Findings
The division bench held that the principles of natural justice, due process, and a fair trial had been violated, as affected parties were neither notified nor provided an opportunity to be heard, and necessary parties had not been impleaded. Admiral (retd) Abbasi presented additional evidence in support of the appeals.
As a result, the declaration of the Pakistan Naval Farms and Pakistan Navy Sailing Club as illegal, the demolition order, the proceedings against the former naval chief and other officers, and the directions for recovery of losses all stand nullified.