ISLAMABAD, Jan 24: The supreme court has decided to hear the petition filed by Punjab government, challenging the allotment of prized land worth Rs1.5 billion to an “informant”.

The SC bench, headed by Justice Munir A. Sheikh, granted leave to appeal to consider the allotment of 478 kanals in favour of Qutabuddin, an “informant” as defined in the Displaced Person Land Settlement Act.

The plea raised by the Punjab government was that at the time of allotment, the land could not have been allotted to him as it had become a building site, and was not rural agriculture land.

The land in question, according to advocate-general Punjab, Maqbool Ellahi Malik, was worth Rs1.5 billion and is part of the Defence Housing Scheme, Lahore.

The court also granted status quo, directing that it should not be disposed of till the court’s decision on Punjab’s appeal.

Narrating the facts, AG Punjab stated that one Qutabuddin, filed an application under section 10 and 11 of the Displaced Person Land Settlement Act in February 1974 to the chief settlement commissioner, stating that certain allotments had been obtained through fraud and misrepresentation.

The AG stated that the application was forged and that Qutabuddin had not given his father’s name. The power of attorney, the AG stated was also bogus.

The AG Punjab further stated that the informant Qutabuddin had already been allotted sufficient land in view of his claim and he was not entitled to get more land.

He further stated that when 478 kanals were allotted to Qutabuddin in 1979, it was not the land which could be allotted to him as its character had been changed by law as a building site.