ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that final court judgments cannot be repeatedly challenged and that raising the same dispute before multiple judicial forums amounts to an abuse of the judicial process.
The court dismissed a request by the heirs of Anwari Bibi for leave to appeal in a land ownership dispute concerning the construction of a girls’ school in Bhakkar, upholding the Lahore High Court’s decision.
In its ruling, the court said a final judgment could not be reopened unless fraud, an error or a lack of jurisdiction on the part of the relevant court was established. Repeatedly bringing the same matter before courts, it said, was contrary to the law.
The judgment noted that the land’s partition and re-allotment had already been taken up to the Supreme Court, while the decision of the consolidation authorities on the partition had also become final. A matter already decided could not be challenged again through execution proceedings.
The court clarified that an executing court may enforce a decree within its jurisdiction but cannot go beyond its scope or alter rights that have already been settled.
According to the case, the heirs of Anwari Bibi maintained that the girls’ school in Bhakkar had been built on their land. They had also challenged earlier court decisions concerning the land’s partition and the school’s construction.
The bench comprising Justice Rozi Khan Breach and Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah announced the ruling. Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah authored the detailed judgment.
The court said finality of judgments was essential to continuity in the justice system, legal certainty and the rule of law.