ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of the Ministry of Interior Employees Cooperative Housing Society to challenge the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) verdict on its encroachment of a government college land.
As per the details, the cooperative housing society had challenged the verdict that opposed its encroachment of the land allocated for a state-owned college.
However, a three-judge bench of the SC, headed by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, upheld the IHC’s judgment and dismissed the housing society’s plea.
During the proceedings, Justice Athar Minallah expressed his displeasure over linking a housing society’s name with a government department.
Previously, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had given cooperative housing societies three weeks to change their names that used government departments or ministries’ titles or face strict action.
Justice Minallah remarked that every state institution was involved in the real estate business, and government departments were running housing societies under their names, which was a clear conflict of interest.
The lawyer of the petitioner claimed that there was a Supreme Court housing society, but Justice Aminud Din Khan interjected that it was the Supreme Court Employees Cooperative Housing Society.
Besides, Justice Minallah also commented that in his opinion, the Supreme Court’s name should not be used in a housing society.
Furthermore, Justice Masood noted that since the high court had already decided the matter, the SC could not reopen it.
Hence, the apex court dismissed the cooperative housing society’s plea challenging the IHC’s verdict on the encroached college land.
