JEHANZEB vs GOVERNMENT OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA through Chief Secretary, Peshawar R

Fields are extracted from the reported citation and judgment text. Where a detail is not stated in the record, it is not shown.

JEHANZEB VS GOVERNMENT OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA through Chief Secretary, Peshawar R. 2---Land Records Manual, Para. 7.69---Change of name of a village---Objections and suggestions from inhabitants of the village not invited---Propriety---By way of a Notification, the Provincial Government changed the name of village Tambah Maha to Maira Swati Abad and in pursuance of the said Notification name of the Government Middle School Tambah was also changed to Government Middle School Maira Swati Abad by the EDO (E&S), Mansehra---Said notification and subsequent order were declared null and void by the High Court vide the impugned judgment---Validity---Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Councils Naming and Renaming of Public Places Rules, 1994 ('the Rules') relate to assigning a name to a road, street, square, park or any other public place or renaming any such road, street, square, park or any other public place---Nothing has been said in these Rules about changing the name of a village, however, the Supreme Court directed that the such procedure, as laid-down for assigning or renaming of a road, street, square, park or any other public place shall also be adopted by the Government before issuing Notification under Para 7.69 of the Land Records Manual, in the matter of changing the name of a village as the official name of a village is used in land revenue record, postal zone and other official and private documents; and that for such purpose objections/ suggestions of the inhabitants of village need to be invited through publication in newspapers---In the instant case neither any publication in the newspapers inviting objections/suggestions from inhabitants was made nor local council was involved in the process, which made the whole process discriminatory and downright illegal---Population of the village Tamba Maha was more than thirty thousand, and obviously it was a matter of great concern for the inhabitants if name of their village was changed without seeking their opinions/suggestions, hence, rights of the public at large had been violated by not making it public and without inviting objections and suggestions from the inhabitants of the village before issuing the Notification under Para 7.69 of the Land Records Manual---High Court has rightly declared the said Notification and subsequent Order to be null and void and also rightly observed that the authorities may do the change after inviting objections from the public at large---Appeal was dismissed.

JEHANZEB vs GOVERNMENT OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA through Chief Secretary, Peshawar R — 2024 SCMR 199 SUPREME-COURT

Case information

Judgment text as reported

Other judgments reported in 2024 SCMR