Qanuni Amdad urdu: Pakistan Housing Authority Foundation was aggrieved of order passed by Federal Ombudsman directing to refund delayed payment charges imposed upon respondent

Pakistan Housing Authority Foundation was aggrieved of order passed by Federal Ombudsman directing to refund delayed payment charges imposed upon respondent

2024 C L C 1407

[Islamabad]

Before Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, J

PAKISTAN HOUSING AUTHORITY FOUNDATION through Managing Director----Petitioner

Versus

FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN through President and 2 others----Respondents

Writ Petition No.2383 of 2020, decided on 16th September, 2022.

Federal Ombudsmen Institutional Reforms Act (XIV of 2013)---

----S.14---Constitution of Pakistan, Art. 25---Mal-administration---Intelligible differentia, classification of---Applicability---Delayed Payment Charges (DPC)---Petitioner / Pakistan Housing Authority Foundation was aggrieved of order passed by Federal Ombudsman directing to refund delayed payment charges imposed upon respondent / allottee for the period when development work remained suspended---Validity---Decision of petitioner Foundation's Board of Directors not to charge delayed payment charges from allottees for period during which work remained suspended was neither recalled at any material stage nor was diluted by decision taken by Public Accounts Committee (P.A.C.)---To deprive an allottee from refund of delayed payment charges paid for the period during which work remained suspended was irrational and discriminatory---Petitioner / Foundation placed no restriction on an allottee to sell house allotted to him---Purchaser of a house stepped into the shoes of allottee/seller and was entitled to all those privileges/concessions and was subject to all those restrictions/liabilities that the original allottee had---Classification drawn between allottees who had sold their houses and those that had not,was neither reasonable nor based on intelligible differentia---Such classification had no rational nexus to the object i.e., whether an allottee was exempt from payment of delayed payment charges for the period during which work on project remained suspended---Allottee who had not sold his house was exempted from payment of delayed payment charges for period during which work remained suspended and if such allottee had paid delayed payment charges for such period, he was entitled to refund or adjustment of that amount---High Court declined to interfere in the order passed by Federal Ombudsman---Constitutional petition was dismissed, in circumstances.

C.D.A. v. Zahid Iqbal PLD 2004 SC 99 rel.

Muhammad Nazir Jawad for Petitioner.

Arshid Mehmood Kiani, Deputy Attorney-General.

Aamir Rehman Mughal for Respondent No.2.

Respondent No.2 in person.

اس کیس کے اہم نکات:

1. معاملہ:

ترقیاتی کام معطل ہونے کے باوجود الاٹیز سے تاخیری ادائیگی کے چارجز (DPC) وصول کیے گئے۔

2. فریقین:

پاکستان ہاؤسنگ اتھارٹی فاؤنڈیشن (PHA-F): تاخیر کے چارجز واپس کرنے سے انکار کر رہی تھی، خاص طور پر ان افراد کو جنہوں نے اپنے پلاٹ یا گھر فروخت کیے تھے۔

الاٹیز: انہوں نے ترقیاتی کام معطل ہونے کے دوران عائد کردہ چارجز کی واپسی کا مطالبہ کیا۔

3. فیصلہ:

عدالت نے قرار دیا کہ ترقیاتی کام معطل ہونے کے دوران تاخیری چارجز لینا غیر منصفانہ اور امتیازی ہے۔

الاٹیز کے درمیان یہ تفریق (گھر بیچنے والے اور نہ بیچنے والے) غیر قانونی قرار دی گئی۔

خریدار بھی اصل الاٹیز کے تمام حقوق کے برابر حقدار ہیں۔

4. قانونی حوالہ:

عدالت نے آئین کے آرٹیکل 25 (مساوی سلوک کا حق) کی بنیاد پر اس تفریق کو غیر منصفانہ قرار دیا۔

5. نتیجہ:

وفاقی محتسب کے فیصلے کو برقرار رکھا گیا، اور فاؤنڈیشن کو تاخیری چارجز واپس کرنے کا حکم دیا گیا۔