The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the de-sealing of Islamabad's Monal Restaurant, suspending the January 11 Islamabad High Court order of sealing and taking over possession of the restaurant situated in the picturesque Margalla Hills.

The apex court order was issued by a three-member bench headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan.

The IHC had on Jan 11 ordered capital authorities to seal Monal Restaurant and take control of the Margalla Greens Golf Club built on encroached land. The court had also declared the military’s claim to 8,000 acres of Margalla Hills National Park illegal.

The Monal Group of Companies had subsequently challenged the IHC verdict in the top court, urging it to revoke the high court orders.

At the hearing today, Justice Ahsan questioned whether the IHC had issued a signed order to seal the restaurant.

In response, the counsel of the restaurant, Makhdom Ali Khan, stated that a certified copy of the IHC's brief order was available with him.

He said an intra-court appeal had been fixed, but the case was dismissed before hearing.

The top court questioned how the restaurant could be sealed before issuance of the written orders from the court. "The Islamabad Wild Life Management Board (IWMB), which sealed the restaurant, was not even a party to the case," Justice Ahsan pointed out.

"Principally there is no order of the IHC available for sealing the restaurant, while verbal orders have no legal or constitutional standing," Justice Mazahir Naqvi, another judge on the bench, said.

Justice Ahsan said other restaurants had apparently been served a notice before being sealed. "However, this was not the case with the Monal Restaurant."

The judge asked the IWMB lawyer about the number of restaurants sealed by his board.

"Gloria Jeans Cafe and La Montana have been issued notices so far," the lawyer said.

Justice Naqvi resented the action against Monal Restaurant and asked: "Is it a monarchy that the emperor issued the decree and it was implemented before it was signed?"

The court then issued directions to the authorities to de-seal the restaurant.

In its petition, the restaurant had pleaded before the apex court that the high court, while exercising suo motu powers, had ordered the Capital Development Authority chairman and the IWMB to take over the possession of the restaurant and seal the premises when none of the parties had sought such a direction thus seriously prejudicing the fundamental rights of the petitioner.

The petition had contended that the Monal Group of Companies employed 650 individuals and as a result of the high court order, the employees and their families were suffering.

Earlier on November 9, the IHC had blamed several authorities for being complacent about the destruction of Margalla Hills National Park and the wildlife sanctuary. The court had also ordered a survey to be carried out on the damage and a report to be submitted.

In the same month, the court had also asked the attorney general for Pakistan to explain if Messers Remount, the veterinary and farms directorate of the General Headquarters, could legally own or manage state land within the protected area of the national park.

The question arose when Monal Group of Companies pleaded that before the expiry of its lease agreement with the Capital Development Authority on Aug 31, 2021, the company had entered into a fresh agreement with Remount.