LAHORE, Nov 10: Justice Syed Zahid Husain of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday observed that no criminal proceedings could be initiated in a case of civil nature, particularly when a civil court was already seized of the dispute.

The court set aside the orders of a judicial magistrate of Faisalabad, which was later affirmed by an additional district and sessions judge on the ground that the case involving a dispute of an immovable property was being adjudicated by a civil court, when the special judicial magistrate ordered the sealing of the disputed property and the AD&SJ later affirmed the decision.

Quoting from certain decisions of the Supreme Court, Justice Syed Zahid Husain held that when a civil court was seized of a dispute with regard to the possession of an immovable property and had already issued an interim order for status quo to regulate the possession of the property, no criminal court was competent to exercise powers under sections 145 and 146 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Justice Zahid held that only civil courts had the ultimate jurisdiction over matters of civil nature and they alone were competent to adjudge such disputes between the parties. Consequently, all the preventive proceedings before a magistrate were subject to the decision by the civil court.

The court also held that the view of the additional sessions judge that mere pendency of a civil suit or a revision or an appeal before a civil court did not bar the jurisdiction of the magistrate, was unwarranted and suffered from serious legal infirmity.

The judicial magistrate of Faisalabad ordered the sealing of the disputed property on the presumption of a possible breach of law and order and later the AD&SJ affirmed the decision. The court held that the magistrate was not warranted to take such a decision in the presence of a status quo order passed by the civil court.