LAHORE (Dunya News) - The Punjab Property Ownership Amendment Act has formally come into effect, with the Lahore High Court establishing property tribunals across the province to hear land grabbing and illegal occupation cases.
Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court Justice Aalia Neelum has appointed 36 Additional Session Judges as heads of the tribunals for all districts of Punjab and has forwarded the list to the provincial government.
At the same time, stay orders in 575 pending cases have been withdrawn, and the matters have been transferred to the newly constituted tribunals for further proceedings under the amended legal framework.
Under the revised law, the tribunals will deal with cases relating to illegal occupation of land and property disputes falling within their jurisdiction.
Committees led by deputy commissioners have already prepared recommendations regarding land encroachment cases and submitted them to the respective tribunals for consideration.
The tribunals have also been granted the authority to order the recovery of occupied properties with the assistance of police. Those found guilty may face prison sentences ranging from three to ten years along with fines worth millions of rupees.
The amended law further allows either party in a case pending before another court to seek its transfer to the committee headed by the deputy commissioner, although the final decision on such a request will remain with the concerned court.
Earlier, Chief Justice Justice Aalia Neelum had suspended proceedings over concerns regarding the alleged misuse of the Punjab Property Ownership Act. Following amendments introduced by the Punjab government, all pending stay orders before the Lahore High Court have now been vacated.
The newly appointed Additional Session Judges will perform their responsibilities as tribunal heads, while the transferred cases will now proceed under the mechanism established by the amended law.