LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar on Sunday ordered the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), revenue department and the district government to submit a detailed report on the land grabbing cases in which Mansha alias Bamm was allegedly involved.

A two-judge bench headed by the chief justice was hearing a petition of an overseas Pakistani about land grabbing against Mansha at the Supreme Court’s Lahore registry.

The CJP questioned the Lahore deputy commissioner why the government did not take urbanisation issue seriously and what role his department was playing in urban areas.

He also said the officials of revenue department should tell the court what is “Khata and Khatoni” (revenue record).

The CJP asked under what law the Patwar Circle was still working in urban areas. The Lahore deputy commissioner told the court that Mansha had bought 32-kanal land in 1992 and later sold it.

He said the LDA had yet to hand over the land retrieved from Mansha to the petitioner.

The bench later ordered the LDA, revenue department and the district government to submit a detailed report on the land retrieved from Mansha and its return to the rightful owners.

The chief justice on Saturday had directed the DC to hand over the retrieved land to the rightful owners and also censured the Punjab police for failing to control the land grabber.

According to police record, more than 70 land-grabbing cases have been registered against Mansha in Lahore’s Johar Town.

Earlier, in October, the Lahore administration had launched a grand operation against encroachments in which it had retrieved illegally possessed land, including around 80 kanals possessed by Mansha in Johar Town worth Rs5 billion.

On October 15, Mansha “surrendered himself” before the Supreme Court and was taken into custody.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2018