Amendment bill to clarify division of property proposed in PA

LAHORE (Dunya News) – An amendment bill has been introduced in the Punjab Assembly to provide further clarity in the law related to the division of property.

Titled the Punjab Partition of Immovable Property (Amendment) Bill 2025, the bill proposes amendments to the Punjab Partition of Immovable Property Act 2012. The bill was presented in a previous assembly session by MPA Ameer Muhammad Khan.

According to the amendment, if the constructed area of a property is larger than the agricultural area, the matter will be dealt with by a civil court. It also proposes that in Section 8 of the Act, the word “order” be replaced with “preliminary order”.

The bill further clarifies that if co-owners cannot agree on the appointment of a referee, the court will have the authority to appoint a suitable referee itself.

Previously, there was no such provision in the law giving the court this power in the case of disagreement among co-owners. The original law also lacked clarity on which court would have jurisdiction if the property included both agricultural and constructed portions.

The bill states that the amendment will make it clear that if the constructed portion is larger, the civil court will hear the case. These changes aim to remove ambiguity in the division process and ensure smoother proceedings without unnecessary delays.