Mrs. Elsa Marri and 7 others V. Phillips M. Irani,
CLC 2015 1687 · Balochistan High Court
This is a property dispute decided by the Balochistan High Court on appeal. The original plaintiff claimed his father had set up a charitable trust over a property in Quetta, appointing the plaintiff's brother as trustee. The brother in turn appointed a man named Mir Khuda Bakhsh Marri as his attorney to look after the trust property. Marri later tried to claim ownership of the property himself through two separate lawsuits based on "adverse possession" (a legal claim that long-term occupation can create ownership rights), but both of those earlier cases were dismissed or withdrawn. When Marri still refused to vacate the property, the trust's beneficiary (the plaintiff, son of the original owner) sued for possession, declaration of ownership, and related relief. The trial court ruled in the plaintiff's favor, finding that Marri's occupation was unlawful since he had only been holding the property as an attorney/agent on behalf of the trustee, not as an owner, and ordered him to vacate and pay rent for the period of occupation. Marri's heirs appealed.
The High Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the trial court's decision. It held that possession by an agent or appointee legally belongs to the person who appointed him, so Marri could not claim ownership just because he physically occupied the property. The court found the plaintiff's evidence stronger and saw no legal errors in the original judgment. The case reinforces the principle that agents holding property on someone else's behalf cannot convert that possession into ownership claims against the true owner or trust.
یہ ایک جائیداد کے تنازعے کا مقدمہ ہے جس کا فیصلہ بلوچستان ہائی کورٹ نے اپیل میں سنایا۔ اصل مدعی کا دعویٰ تھا کہ اس کے والد نے کوئٹہ میں واقع ایک جائیداد پر ایک فلاحی ٹرسٹ قائم کیا تھا اور مدعی کے بھائی کو اس ٹرسٹ کا ٹرسٹی مقرر کیا تھا۔ بھائی نے آگے میر خدا بخش مری نامی شخص کو اپنا اٹارنی مقرر کیا تاکہ وہ ٹرسٹ کی جائیداد کی نگرانی کرے۔ بعد ازاں مری نے دو الگ الگ مقدمات کے ذریعے، "ادورس پوزیشن" (یعنی طویل عرصے تک قبضے کی بنیاد پر مالکانہ حق کا دعویٰ) کی بنیاد پر خود اس جائیداد کی ملکیت کا دعویٰ کرنے کی کوشش کی، لیکن یہ دونوں سابقہ مقدمات خارج ہو گئے یا واپس لے لیے گئے۔ جب مری نے پھر بھی جائیداد خالی کرنے سے انکار کیا تو ٹرسٹ کے مستفید (یعنی اصل مالک کے بیٹے، مدعی) نے قبضہ، ملکیت کے اعلان، اور متعلقہ داد رسی کے لیے مقدمہ دائر کیا