Did Ahsan resign because of Grand Hyatt case?

ISLAMABAD: Justice Ijazul Ahsan Thursday resigned allegedly fearing Supreme Judicial Council’s (SJC) proceeding against him in the Grand Hyatt Hotel case also known as the One Constitution Avenue case.

Two different sources confided to The News that Justice Ijazul Ahsan’s controversial role in the Grand Hyatt Hotel case was the reason for his unexpected resignation. One of the sources claimed that the SJC was also preparing to proceed against Ahsan but it could not be confirmed from the relevant quarters.

The other source, while citing the same reason for Ahsan’s resignation, said that relevant material regarding Ijazul Ahsan’s role in the Grand Hyatt Hotel case was being collected months back from different offices.

In the Grand Hyatt Hotel case, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the then CJP Saqib Nisar in January 2019, restored the lease of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, which was cancelled by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) over violations of by-laws.

The three-member bench included Justice Ijazul Ahsan, who before becoming judge had represented M/s BNP, which was allotted 13.5 acres plot - One Constitution Avenue - for the construction of Grand Hyatt Hotel. The company instead built a 40-storey luxury apartments complex, converting the green areas into residential-cum-commercial areas.

The apartments were sold to high-profile buyers. The SC bench had directed the restoration of the lease through a short order issued a week before the retirement of Justice Saqib Nisar. A penalty of Rs17.5 billion was imposed on M/s BNP without applying any method of determination.

The CDA lawyer had then raised objections to Justice Ahsan’s inclusion in the bench, citing his previous association with M/s BNP as its lawyer. Then chief justice and head of the bench, Saqib Nisar, however, dismissed the objection, saying that Justice Ahsan’s previous association with M/s BNP had no bearing on the case under question.

According to a report published in The News, M/s BNP was set up shortly before it participated in the auction of the plot for the Grand Hyatt Hotel in 2005. Earlier, it had three partners who later quarrelled and then it was owned by a sole owner. The company had reportedly made payment of only Rs1 billion, that too in 2012. The payment was rescheduled a couple of times before the lease was cancelled in 2016.

The CDA was opposed to the restoration of the plot but while dismissing the plea of CDA, the former CJP had questioned if the CDA had been sleeping for 13 years.

Earlier the Islamabad High Court had upheld the cancellation of the lease and directed the FIA to proceed against the officials responsible for leasing the land and relaxing rules and extending favours to the company in post-bid changes. The company had challenged the high court’s decision in the SC, before a bench led by Chief Justice and including Justice Ijazul Ahsan.