October 12, 2006	Thursday	Ramazan 18, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 11: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the Punjab government to provide complete details of school properties grabbed by land mafia in the province.

The two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi was hearing a case regarding occupation of a school property in Pind Dadan Khan which came to its notice through a press report.

This is a classical case of fraud against the Punjab education department, said additional advocate general Syed Azhar Hussain. However, provincial secretary schools Zahid Saeed assured the court that the government would soon conduct a survey in the province to compile a report about illegal occupation of government properties.

In 1970, the government had allotted about nine kanals and six marlas to the Government Boys Primary School, Dharyala Jalib in Pind Dadan Khan. A sizable piece of the land allotted to the school was in the open.

However, only four kanals and four marlas was actually transferred in the name of the school and Umar Hayat, the brother-in-law of the then headmaster of the school Raja Mohammad Abbasi, got allotted the rest of the land in his name in connivance with the headmaster.

The education department approached the Lahore High Court and won the case in 1975.

But Umar Hayat resisted to abandon the possession by securing a manoeuvred decree from a lower court in his favour in 1978.

After learning the details of the case, the chief justice expressed displeasure and observed that the education department had failed to take effective steps to undo the illegal occupation despite the fact that they knew about the fraud in 1978.

“It is only the media through which we learn about the crime, otherwise nobody would have told us what is happening around,” the chief justice observed.

He said it was unfortunate that the Punjab government was standing before the Supreme Court helplessly, adding it was a fit case for the anti-corruption department.

The court then decided to summon the legal heirs of Umar Hayat and adjourned the matter for November 4.