17 April 2004	Saturday	26 Safar 1425

PESHAWAR, April 16: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday reserved its judgment on two identical writ petitions relating to forest royalty cases of Kalam and Dir-Kohistan.

The petitions filed by Mutabar Khan and Gujar Khan, representing the local right-holders, have been lingering on in the High Court for eight years.

The petitioners have requested the High Court to issue directives to the provincial government for payment of 60 per cent royalty from the sale proceeds of the forests.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Shahjehan Khan Yousafzai and Justice Qazi Ahsanullah Qureshi heard arguments of the petitioners counsel Qazi Muhammad Anwer and Ameen Khattak, the advocate of the Forest Development Corporation (FDC), M. Sardar Khan and the additional advocate general Muhammad Saeed.

In April 1996 a two-member bench of the High Court headed by Justice J.D. Akberjee had disposed of the two petitions with the directives to the government to act in accordance with the Forest Act of 1927 and the NWFP Management of Protected Forests Rules, 1975 and distribute the sale proceeds amongst the local inhabitants in accordance with the procedure provided in the Act and Rules framed thereunder.

However, the FDC filed appeals before the Supreme Court, stating that the provisions of Order 1 Rule 8 of the Civil Procedure Code were not followed strictly as the CPC was applicable to the proceedings in the constitutional jurisdiction by the High Court.

The Supreme Court had remanded the cases back to the High Court with the direction to follow the provision of Order 1 Rule 8 of the CPC and to publish advertisement for informing the concerned stake-holders about the cases.

The SC had remanded the cases in 1996 with the direction to decide the petitions within six months. However, the cases continued lingering on due to one reason or another.

Qazi Muhammad Anwer argued that the government had not discharged its legal and moral obligation under the contracts and the law. He requested the bench to issue appropriate directions to the government for implementing and continuing the agreements and payment of royalty at the rate of 60 percent to the petitioners local right-holders from the sale proceeds of the forests exploited by the government or any other agency, corporation or persons of the forest range in Dir-Kohistan and Kalam.

He contended that the royalty to the petitioners and other forest right-holders of the areas should be paid from the sale proceeds of the forests and not on the basis of pre-fixed rates. The additional advocate general supported the contentions of Qazi Anwer.

Advocate M. Sardar Khan expressed surprise over the stance taken by the additional advocate general, contending that if the petitions were accepted there would be heavy loss to the provincial exchequer.