ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Monday set aside a Supreme Court (SC) judgment from August 2024 that had paved the way for the demolition of infrastructure developed by the Monal Group of Companies, La Montana and Gloria Jeans inside the picturesque Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP).

The SC had ordered the closure of Monal and the adjacent La Montana restaurant on August 21, 2024, and they were closed the next month to protect the park’s biodiversity.

A bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah had taken up review petitions filed by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI).

The petitions challenged the SC’s directions to the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) to take possession of the restaurants — namely Monal, La Montana and Gloria Jeans — located inside the park. The CDA and the Islamabad Capital Territory Police were also directed to assist the wildlife board in this regard.

The setting aside of the judgment also lifted the stay granted earlier when the FCC ruled that disputes related to ownership would be decided by trial courts without being influenced by court observations, whereas administrative matters would be decided by the relevant regulatory bodies.

The FCC also directed the trial courts where the matter was pending to decide the cases as soon as possible. During the hearing, Justice Rizvi regretted that several issues had not been taken into account in the SC’s decision, observing that the court never decides matters on the basis of emotions but according to the law, while disregarding irrelevant or extraneous considerations.

Senior counsel Ahsan Bhoon appreciated the court’s decision on behalf of the restaurants, but Justice Rizvi replied that there was no need to praise the court, saying that it should always decide matters that were founded on a firm basis.

In its earlier order, the SC had directed that the entrances to the area where the restaurants were established were to be barricaded after which the infrastructure would be demolished, with minimal disturbance to the wildlife and while avoiding damage to the trees of the national park.

Earlier on Sept 10, 2024, the SC had dismissed a similar set of review petitions moved by the Monal Group of Companies, the Capital View Point Restaurant (La Montana), Sunshine Heights (Pvt) Ltd and by Brig (retd) Falak Naz Bangash of the defence ministry.

While rejecting the review petitions, the SC had also declared Monal Group’s Luqman Ali Afzal to be no better than a trespasser, saying that he had no legal right to continue possessing the land at the MHNP.

Likewise, the running of a restaurant by the owner of La Montana and Gloria Jeans was also in total disregard of the provisions of the Islamabad Wildlife (Protection, Preservation and Management) Ordinance.

Through its 2024 judgment, the SC had observed that the operators of these restaurants, and those who permitted them to operate, had disregarded the integrity of the national park, ravaged its trees and flora, and displaced and disturbed endemic bird and animal life.

It also stated that the natural environment of the national park had been adversely affected, along with its functions, such as acting as a catchment area for rainfall and facilitating the recharge of springs and streams.

An astronomical environmental cost had also been borne by the public and would continue to be borne by future generations, the SC warned.