ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the appeals filed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government and the provincial ombudsman concerning a property ownership and distribution case.
Justice Musarrat Hilali declared the appeals inadmissible, stating that that when private parties are silent on the matter, neither the government nor the ombudsman has the legal right to file an appeal.
It further clarified that the ombudsman, acting in the capacity of a judge, did not have the standing of a party to the case and cannot defend its decisions in higher courts.
As a quasi-judicial body, the ombudsman must remain impartial and is not affected by the decision as a party to the dispute.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court emphasized that the KP government neither had ownership of the disputed property nor suffered any personal loss from the decision, and thus, it had no legal standing to file an appeal.
The court also assured that the rights of the actual claimants to the property would remain unaffected if they wished to appeal.
The case involved Shabbir Khan and other private parties disputing the ownership and distribution of property, which was initially decided by the KP Women's Ombudsman under the Women Property Act 2019.
However, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had annulled the ombudsman’s decision, ruling that it exceeded its jurisdiction.