ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) ruled on Thursday that the Capital Development Authority (CDA), being a creature of the CDA Ordinance, 1960, cannot exercise powers or confer benefits beyond those granted by the statute.
It said the authority to acquire private property carries a corresponding obligation to determine and pay compensation in accordance with the law.
The observation came as the court directed the CDA to examine and decide the compensation and rehabilitation entitlements of all outstanding claimants within six months, after providing them an opportunity of hearing, and implement the lawful determinations expeditiously.
Headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, a two-judge FCC bench, also comprising Justice Ali Bagar Najafi, issued the directions while hearing a set of petitions arising from the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) verdicts ofOct 30, 2024, and June 14, 2021, in writ petitions filed by landowners, affected persons and allottees of different plots.
The controversy related to the CDA’s prolonged failure to discharge its statutory obligations under the CDA Ordinance, includ-ing non-payment of acquisition compensation, non-allotment of alternative plots, denial of rehabilitation benefits and non-development of acquired sectors. The record renected outstanding claims of approximately Rs8.0224 billion in compensation and 10,739 plots awaiting allotment.
One of the petitions concerned Sector E-12, Islamabad, where allottees, who had been awaiting development and physical possession of their plots since 1989, approached the IHC.
On June 14, 2021, the court directed the CDA to expedite development of the sector and formulate an appropriate policy to address the grievances of the allottees.
Aggrieved by the respective judgments and consequential directions,the petitionersinvoked the appellate jurisdiction of the FCCthrough the presentbatch of petitions.
The FCC highlighted a set of principles, explaining that acquisition awards lawfully announced and having attained finality shall govern the rights and liabilities of the parties, while subsequent awards and review orders will be enforceable only upon establishment of their statutory validity.
The principles also require that compensation and additional statutory amounts be paid strictly in accordance with the applicable law and awards, while rehabilitation benefits, including allotment of plots, will be available only where supported by a valid legal entitlement.
Likewise, neither the CDA nor the federal government may enlarge, diminish or alter such rights through administrative measures inconsistent with theordinance.
These principles preserve the lawful claims of affected persons while ensuring that public property and public funds remain subject to statutory control, the judgement emphasised.
The FCC reiterated that the constitutionalprotection afforded to proprietary rights under Articles 23 and 24 of the Constitution recognises that private property may be compulsorily acquired only for a public purpose and in accordance with the law.
The exercise of eminent domain, though founded upon considerations of public necessity, remains subject to the safeguards prescribed by the governing legislation, it said.
The rights of affected persons and the obligations of the acquiring authority must, therefore, be examined within the framework established by the applicable enactment, the judgment said.
The FCC highlighted that the CDA was a statutory body constituted under the CDA Ordinance, 1960, for the planning and development of Islamabad.
Therefore, its powers of acquisition and the consequential determination of compensation are regulated by the provisions of the ordinance, particularly Sections 25 to 32, read with the relevant rules and regulations.
The CDA cannot justify indefinite non-payment of compensation that has been lawfully determined and has become payable under the applicable award, the FCC observed, adding that administrative delays, financial constraints or internal procedural difficulties do not constitute lawful grounds for withholding an established statutory entitlement.