ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has held that no special treatment can be given to government departments for condonation of delay; rather, their cases should be dealt with uniformly and in the same manner as those of ordinary litigants and citizens.
A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and comprising Justice Musarat Hilali and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, issued the judgment in a civil appeal filed against different judgments passed by the Lahore High Court (LHC), Multan Bench, on December 23, 2023.
The civil appeal was filed by the Province of Punjab through the district collector, Sargodha, against the judgment dated 23.12.2003 passed by the LHC in Civil Revision No 1291/1995, whereby the judgment and decree of the trial court was restored and the suit was decreed, while the judgment and decree dated 24.11.1994 passed by the district judge, Sargodha, was set aside. The court had heard the case on June 2, 2026.
After hearing the case at length, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that no illegality or irregularity was found in the LHC judgment which might warrant any interference. So far as CPLA No 769-L/2016 is concerned, the court held that this civil petition is barred by 4,402 days.
The court also went through the application (CMA No 683-L/2016) for condonation of delay and reproduced paragraph No 2 of the same, which stated that due to negligence, high-handedness and unprofessional behaviour of revenue officials, valuable rights of the public exchequer had been put at stake; otherwise, the petitioners had a very good prima facie arguable case on merits.
The 10-page judgment, authored by Justice Mazhar, held that the ground raised for condonation of such a long delay demonstrates the recklessness and inefficiency of the department concerned and its officials, including the top brass. In order to establish sufficient cause, the court noted that the delay of each and every day is also required to be explained, which is also missing from the application moved for condonation of delay.
“It is well settled that while considering condonation of delay, no special leniency or preferential treatment should be given to government departments, autonomous bodies or private organisations; they must be treated like ordinary litigants,” said the judgment.
The court noted that no plausible reasons had been shown for justifying the grave inefficiency and negligence of the department in filing the civil petition in time. “The CMA for condonation of delay is dismissed, while the civil petition is also dismissed being barred by time,” it held.
The court further held that before cancelling the land in question, the respondents, who were purchasers against valuable consideration, should have been afforded an opportunity of hearing.
The court ruled that under Section 32(2) of the Punjab Colonisation of Government Lands Act, 1992, the opportunity to show cause before resumption, reduction, or any adverse order is a substantive right, not a mere formality. “Failure to provide such opportunity renders the action illegal and ultra vires,” said the judgment.
