CHINA HARBOUR ENGINEERING COMPANY LTD. vs Z. Z — 2024 CLD 917 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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CHINA HARBOUR ENGINEERING COMPANY LTD. VS Z. Z. ENTERPRISES S. 3---High Court (Lahore) Rules and Orders, Volume-I, Chap-1, Part-K, R. 10---Constitution of Pakistan, Arts. 202 & 203---Commercial Courts, function of---Scope---Punjab Commercial Courts Ordinance, 2021, [since repealed]---Effect---Petitioners/defendants sought revision of order (dated 31.05.2023) passed by the Civil Judge 1st Class (Special Court for Commercial Cases), Lahore, whereby suit for recovery of Rs.851,170,923/- along with specific performance of contract filed by respondents/plaintiffs was considered as commercial case---Plea of the petitioners/defendants was that the Civil Judge had acted contrary to the mandate of Rule 10, Part-K, Chapter-1, Volume-I of the Rules and Orders of the Lahore High Court, Lahore ('the Rule 10') as said R. 10 could not operate in vacuum unsupported by any law as the Punjab Commercial Courts Ordinance, 2021 ('the Ordinance 2021'), which was promulgated on 13.04.2021, stood repealed on 12.06.2021 while suit-in-question was instituted (on 14.09.2022) after more than one year of the Ordinance, 2021 being repealed---Validity---In order to secure expeditious disposal of cases of commercial nature, the Lahore High Court vide its Notification No.6032 DDJ/DR(PD&IT) dated 28.04.2020 ('the Notification') designated a few courts of Additional District and Sessions Judge and Civil Judges at couple of stations entrusting the work of commercial cases pertaining to their districts to the Judicial Officers already dealing with the cases of Overseas Pakistanis---Rule 10, Part-K, Chapter-1, Volume-I of Rules and Orders of the Lahore High Court, Lahore, provides that commercial cases should be disposed of as speedily as practicable, which are to include cases arising out of ordinary transactions of merchants, bankers and traders---Said notification also did not show that the courts were being designated as Commercial Courts in accordance with the Ordinance, 2001---Therefore, it was quite clear that the subject notification was issued on 28.04.2020 prior to the promulgation of the Ordinance, 2001 and its repeal had no legal effect upon functioning of the Commercial Courts---Even as per said R. 10, a plaintiff or appellant may apply at the time of preliminary hearing or by subsequent application before the final hearing thereof to have its case classed as commercial case---Petitioners had not been able to point out any prejudice being caused to them because of hearing and adjudication of the case-in-question by the Civil Judge designated as Commercial Court---Thus courts designated to hear cases of commercial nature were functioning in accordance with the C.P.C. and the Rules and Orders of the Lahore High Court under its superintendence and control within the scope of Arts. 202 & 203 of the Constitution---High Court did not find any illegality or irregularity in the impugned order warranting interference in exercise of its revisional jurisdiction---Civil revision, being devoid of any merit, was dismissed, in circumstances.

CHINA HARBOUR ENGINEERING COMPANY LTD. vs Z. Z — 2024 CLD 917 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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