LAHORE: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a decision of the Lahore High Court and directed Hamza Sugar Mills of Rahim Yar Khan to vacate 800 kanal state land encroached upon by the unit for decades.

A three-judge bench of the apex court dismissed the appeal of the sugar mills administration and also ordered it to pay penalty for utilising the state land illegally.

On July 3, the LHC had dismissed a petition of the mills’ administration and allowed revenue authorities to repossess the state land.

The mills’ administration had challenged the order through an appeal before the Supreme Court, stating that since 1963 they had been using the barren land after making it cultivable.

Apex court upholds LHC verdict

It, however, agreed to pay the penalty imposed by the LHC as it was very difficult for them to move machinery installed on the land.

The Punjab advocate general and colonies secretary told the bench there was no agreement between the mills administration and the government over the land possession.

They said the mills’ administration never paid any amount for using the land and instead it prolonged its possession by resorting to litigation.

After hearing both sides, the bench, headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, dismissed the appeal and upheld the high court decision.

Justice Ibadur Rehman Lodhi of the LHC had observed in his order that there was no agreement between the parties, and the plaintiff (mills) remained in illegal and unauthorised occupation of state land.

The judge also observed that the mills wanted to continue its illegal possession of the state land and at the same time had no intention to pay even a single penny either towards penalty or at least compensation for use and unauthorised occupation of the state land.

The judge had allowed the revenue authorities to re-enter the possession of the state land encroached upon by the sugar mills and amount of penalty, whichever had been assessed by the revenue authorities, and recover it from the mills, as land revenue arrears.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2015

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