BHC strikes down clauses of DHA Quetta Act

ISLAMABAD: The Balochistan High Court (BHC) has declared certain clauses of the Defence Housing Authority Quetta Act, 2015 void, ruling that they violate the Constitution. It said that the Act shows the government of that time was incompetent

The provisions are Section 2(q), Section 6(b)(1)(14) and Section 14(B). A five-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Jamal Mandokhel, heard the petition, which was filed by Advocate Kashif Kakar and Barrister Ali Zaidi, local media reported.

The order quoted the Act, which says that the executive board of the DHA had notified an area, calling it Controlled and Specified, of about 45,000 acres of land. The DHA intends to acquire this land to carry out planning and development on it. The court ruled that the government in 2015 did not have the authority to allot any land to a private or non-government entity.

It quoted Section 2(q), which states that a Controlled area consists of “lands that may be procured, purchased or acquired by, or leased to the (DHA) Authority in any area of Quetta and other districts of Balochistan, as may be notified by the Authority, after the commencement of the Act”.

The court said that this permission granted to the DHA by the Balochistan government is unconstitutional. It said that only the federal and provincial government can acquire private land in the interest of the public.

Section 6(b)(14) says that “No master plan, planning or development scheme shall be prepared by any local body or agency for the specified area without prior consultation with, and approval of the (DHA) Executive Board.” Section 14(B) states the same.

The court said about this section that having to require permission from DHA is illegal. “The notification dated May 30, 2018, requiring permission from the executive board of the DHA with regard to utilisation of the land in the Specified Area, is declared void and of no legal effect.”

The petitioner had also said the DHA is a private entity and so it can’t acquire land as otherwise provided by Land Acquisition Act. The court said the same. “…but the housing society of the DHA, being a non-governmental authority, is private, as such, does not come within the definition of a public purpose. Hence, imposing restriction upon the right of a citizen, guaranteed by the Constitution, for the purpose of acquiring land in future, for a single private entity, is illegal,” it said.

Lawmakers have the right to legislate but those can’t be in contradiction with the Constitution, the court ruled. The Defence Housing Authority is planned to be established near the Kuchlak bypass in the outskirts of Quetta.