ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that a tenant cannot challenge the ownership rights of a landlord while continuing to remain in possession of the property as a tenant.
According to a detailed written judgement, the court made it clear that a tenant must first relinquish possession of the property before approaching a court of law to assert any claim of ownership.
The judgement was authored by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan. The bench observed that under Article 115, a tenant is stopped from denying the landlord’s title so long as he continues to occupy the premises in the capacity of a tenant.
The court further explained that if a tenant subsequently purchases a share in the property or claims to be a co-owner, the proper legal remedy would be to file a partition suit before a competent civil court. Such a claim, the court noted, cannot be used as a defence before a rent controller in eviction proceedings.
The judgement also stated that the Peshawar High Court had earlier adopted the correct legal approach by dismissing the tenant’s appeal. The apex court upheld the high court’s decision, affirming the established principle that a tenant cannot dispute the landlord’s title while retaining possession under a tenancy arrangement.
