LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly will take up on Tuesday (February 24) the Punjab Protection of Ownership of Immovable Property (Amendment) Ordinance 2026, which is aimed at curbing land grabbing and fast-tracking property disputes.

The ordinance was on the agenda for Monday’s session but could not be tabled due to a lack of quorum.

The amended ordinance, promulgated on Feb 17, introduces jail terms of up to 10 years and fines up to Rs10 million for the illegal possession of immovable property, while mandating that cases be decided within 30 days.

It amends the Punjab Protection of Ownership of Immovable Property Act, 2025 — operation of which was suspended by the Lahore High Court last year — to strengthen protection for lawful owners and streamline adjudication through newly empowered district-level tribunals.

Under the ordinance, a key structural reform is the establishment of the Punjab Property Tribunal in each district, to be presided over by a serving additional sessions judge, with exclusive jurisdiction to try offences under the Act and determine questions of title.

The tribunal is required to proceed on a day-to-day basis and conclude cases within 30 days of receiving a report from the scrutiny committee, limiting adjournments to no more than seven days at a time. Under the previous law, retired sessions judges were to be appointed to the post.

Further, now the tribunals cannot take up the cases already being heard by the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), Supreme Court (SC) and the LHC.

The district scrutiny committees. headed by deputy commissioners and comprising senior police and revenue officials, will examine complaints, scrutinise records, summon relevant persons and attempt amicable settlements within 30 days before submitting their reports to the tribunal.

Any person who directly or indirectly occupies property through fraud, force, coercion, forgery, misrepresentation or other illegal means will face a minimum of five years’ imprisonment, extendable to ten years, along with heavy financial penalties.

Even attempts, abetment or facilitation of such offences will attract prison terms ranging from one to three years and fines up to Rs1m.

In a significant deterrent against misuse of the law, the tribunal has been granted powers to punish false, frivolous or vexatious complaints with imprisonment of up to five years and fines up to Rs500,000.

The tribunal may also award monetary compensation to lawful owners, not less than the officially notified value of the property, along with recovery of any profits gained through illegal occupation.

To prevent further complications during litigation, the ordinance declares that any sale, lease, gift, mortgage or other form of alienation of a disputed property after the filing of a complaint shall be null and void unless specifically permitted by the tribunal.

Appeals against final judgments will lie only before the LHC within 30 days, while interim orders will not be appealable. Bail for accused persons arrested under the ordinance may only be granted by the high court, reinforcing the exclusive authority of the tribunal system.

According to the statement of objects and reasons, the amendments are aimed at strengthening the legal framework protecting property rights, ensuring faster dispute resolution, enhancing penalties to deter illegal occupation and removing obsolete provisions to create a more coherent and effective enforcement mechanism across Punjab.