Province of Punjab through Secretary Education, Civil Secretariat, Lahore vs Darul Haq Trust Ss

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Province of Punjab through Secretary Education, Civil Secretariat, Lahore VS Darul Haq Trust Ss.42 & 54---Government land---Allotment for mosque---Allottee deviating from allotment terms---Construction of commercial shops by allottee thereon---Dedicated land, conversion of---Legality---Permissibility---Suit for declaration and permanent injunction against the allottee---Scope---Brief facts of the matter were that the Province of Punjab (petitioner/plaintiff) instituted a suit for declaration and permanent injunction asserting that the suit land was government property under its possession on the basis of apossession slip dated 10.01.1973 and that a Government High School was operating on a portion thereof; the dispute arose when Darul Haq Trust (respondent/defendant) constructed shops on the suit land; the suit was dismissed by the Trial Court and the appeal was dismissed as well, leading to the filing of present civil revision petition challenging the concurrent findings of the Courts below---Held: The burden squarely rested upon respondent trust to produce cogent and reliable evidence demonstrating either that the impugned use of the land fell within the permissible scope of the original allotment, or that any lawful authorization had subsequently been obtained to vary its terms. However, DW-1 appearing on behalf of respondent trust unequivocally admitted during cross-examination that the land had not been allotted for the construction of shops---Respondent's defence failed to meet the evidentiary threshold required to justify the deviation from the original, restrictive purpose of the allotment---The conversion of land devoted to a public or religious purpose into commercial use amounted to an infringement of the petitioners' proprietary and possessory rights and a breach of the public interest in preserving land dedicated for communal use---Such conversion was contrary to the express terms of the allotment and was therefore unlawful---Any attempt to convert mosque-dedicated land into commercial premises, particularly without statutory sanction constituted not only a breach of allotment but an impairment of the religious trust and a violation of the fiduciary obligations attached to such property---Respondent trust was permanently restrained from further encroachment, construction, or use of the land for purposes other than a mosque, as specified in the allotment letter---Concurrent judgments of the courts below were set aside---Present civil revision petition was allowed, in circumstances.

Province of Punjab through Secretary Education, Civil Secretariat, Lahore vs Darul Haq Trust Ss — 2026 MLD 921 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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