Maintainability of Petition after notices are duly served
PLJ 2014 · Lahore High Court
This case involved a long-running property dispute. Muhammad Younas had filed a suit against Shabbir Hussain for possession of property through specific performance of a 1998 sale agreement. When Hussain failed to appear in court, he was proceeded against ex-parte in 2000. His application to have that ex-parte order set aside was rejected, and so was his subsequent appeal. He then filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging those rulings, but crucially, he never obtained any order from the High Court pausing or suspending the trial court proceedings. While his writ petition was still pending, the trial court went ahead, recorded evidence, and issued a decree against him. Instead of appealing that decree, he wrongly filed another application under Order IX Rule 13 of the Civil Procedure Code to have the decree set aside, which was also dismissed.
The High Court ruled against Hussain, holding that since he had been properly served with court notices, an application under Order IX Rule 13 was not the correct legal remedy for challenging the decree itself—he should have filed a regular appeal instead. The court also noted that Hussain had secretly sold the disputed property through a registered deed without informing the trial court, indicating an intent to delay proceedings and mislead the court. The petition was dismissed. This case clarifies that ex-parte orders and ex-parte decrees are separate legal matters requiring separate remedies, and that pending higher court petitions don't automatically pause lower court proceedings unless a stay is explicitly granted.
یہ ایک طویل عرصے سے چلنے والے جائیداد کے تنازعے سے متعلق مقدمہ تھا۔ محمد یونس نے 1998ء کے ایک بیع نامے کی مخصوص انجام دہی (specific performance) کی بنیاد پر قبضہ حاصل کرنے کے لیے شبیر حسین کے خلاف دعویٰ دائر کیا تھا۔ جب حسین عدالت میں پیش نہ ہوا تو 2000ء میں اس کے خلاف یک طرفہ کارروائی (ex-parte) کی گئی۔ اس یک طرفہ حکم کو کالعدم قرار دلوانے کے لیے اس کی درخواست مسترد کر دی گئی، اور اس کے بعد دائر کی گئی اپیل بھی مسترد ہو گئی۔ اس نے پھر ہائی کورٹ میں ان فیصلوں کے خلاف رٹ پٹیشن دائر کی، مگر اہم بات یہ ہے کہ اس نے ہائی کورٹ سے ٹرائل کورٹ کی کارروائی روکنے یا معطل کرنے کا کوئی حکم حاصل نہیں کیا۔ جب اس کی رٹ پٹیشن ابھی زیرِ التوا تھی، ٹرائل کورٹ نے کارروائی جاری رکھی، شہادت ریکارڈ کی، اور اس کے خلاف ڈگری جاری کر دی۔ اس ڈگری کے خلاف اپیل دائر کرنے کے بجائے، اس نے غلطی سے دیوانی ضابطہ فوجداری (سول پروس