IHC dismisses pleas against auctioning Nawaz’s property

ISLAMABAD: A division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday dismissed the petitions seeking to stop the auction of a property owned by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, declaring them as non-maintainable.

The bench said the IHC could not hear the case under section 199 when the petitioners had other forums for relief, adding the litigants should have filed the application in the trial court for stopping the auction.

The bench comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri announced the decision which was earlier reserved after hearing arguments from the petitioners’ counsel against the property auction in Toshakhana reference.

Three separate petitions were filed by Mian Iqbal Barkat, Aslam Aziz and Muhammad Ashraf Malik through their counsel Qazi Misbah in the IHC.

During the course of the proceedings, the petitioners’ lawyer contended that an accountability court of Islamabad had ordered the authorities concerned on April 22 for auctioning the property owned by the former prime minister. He said the property in Sheikhupura was purchased before the filing of reference against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo. The lawyer also gave references of the decisions of the Supreme Court and Indian courts in similar cases, saying a sessions court of the area concerned would decide the matter if the property was situated in other district. The lawyer prayed the court to stop the property auction scheduled for Thursday (today). Justice Farooq asked the lawyer why the petitions were filed after such a delay if the auction was scheduled for May 20. Misbah replied the petitions were delayed due to Eid holidays in the country.

To a query by the bench, the lawyer said they could file a civil suit but it could not stop the property auction. The lawyer added the petitioners had objected to the auction owning to land purchase deed, lease and family settlements. He said the petitioners had been given the said house under a family settlement in 2007, adding the said land was agricultural and a cemetery of Sharif family was also there.

The lawyer pleaded the three petitioners had invested their money in the property and it was their right to recover the same. The court subsequently dismissed the petitions while declaring them non-maintainable.