LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly is all set to pass on Tuesday (today) The Punjab Protection of Ownership of Immovable Property (Amendment) Ordinance 2026 to curb land grabbing and fast-track resolution of property disputes.
The amended ordinance was promulgated on Feb 14, introducing jail terms of up to 10 years and fines reaching Rs10 million for 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 to strengthen protections for lawful owners and streamline adjudication through newly empowered district-level tribunals.
Under the revised law, 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.
District-level tribunals headed by ASJs mandated to decide cases within 30 days
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.
Now the tribunal cannot take up the cases being already heard by the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), the Supreme Court (SC) and the Lahore High Court (LHC).
The district scrutiny committees are headed by deputy commissioners and comprise senior police and revenue officials. These committees 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-year 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 Rs1 million.
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 Act may only be granted by the LHC, reinforcing the exclusive authority of the tribunal system.
According to the statement of objects and reasons, the amendments aim to strengthen the legal framework protecting property rights, ensure faster dispute resolution, enhance penalties to deter illegal occupation and remove obsolete provisions to create a more coherent and effective enforcement mechanism across Punjab.
LHC directs tribunals to decide pleas
Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court on Monday disposed of hundreds of petitions against the Punjab Protection of Ownership of Immovable Property Ordinance, 2025, and directed the tribunals formed under the law to decide cases relating to possession.
A three-member full bench headed by Chief Justice Aalia Neelum heard the petitions filed by the citizens aggrieved by the deputy commissioner-led Dispute Resolution Committees (DRCs).
The bench also comprises Justice Jawad Zafar and Justice Abher Gul Khan.
During the hearing, Advocate General Punjab (AGP) Amjad Pervaiz presented the amended ordinance related to the property ownership law before the court. He submitted that significant amendments had been introduced to the law during the pendency of the petitions.
He said, under the new ordinance, judicial powers have been withdrawn from the DRCs and a biometric system has been introduced for filing complaints.
He further said that the powers have been taken back from the executive and transferred to the tribunals.
The AGP pointed out that instead of retired sessions judges, serving additional district and sessions judges will now be appointed to the tribunals, which are bound to decide applications within 30 days.
The advocate general further informed the bench that a complainant may file an application for transfer of a pending case to the tribunal from a civil court. The court concerned will examine the record and decide whether the case should be transferred to the tribunal or not, he added.
Additionally, he said, decisions of the tribunal may be challenged before the constitutional courts, including the Supreme Court or the high court.
Chief Justice Neelum observed that clear changes have now been made to the law and that petitions challenging the constitutionality of the law would be examined at a later stage.
In its order, the bench declared all already stayed proceedings of the DRCs null and void and directed that petitions be transferred to the relevant tribunals.
The bench instructed the tribunals to hear all applications under the new amended ordinance and decide them in accordance with the law.
On Dec 22 last, Chief Justice Neelum had suspended the operation of the Punjab Protection of Ownership of Immovable Property Ordinance, 2025 and announced that a full bench would be constituted to hear and decide the matter.
Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2026