MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court on Wednesday barred the government from allocating and releasing development funds to members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from the Local Government and Rural Development (LG&RD) Department`s budget, ruling that lawmakers had no legitimate role in the allocation or identification of LG&RD schemes.

The ruling was issued by a division bench comprising Justice Sardar Mohammad Ejaz and Justice Khalid Rasheed while hearing three nearly identical petitions filed by heads and members of local government (LG) institutions between May and November 2023.

Apart from the AJK government and its various departments and officials, the petitioners had also named all 53 MLAs as respondents in the case.

Represented by senior lawyers Raja Sajjad Ahmed, Barrister Hamayun Nawaz, and Yaqoob Khan Mughal, the petitioners argued that the government was legally bound to encourage and strengthen LG institutions, whose functions and powers were clearly defined in the Local Government Act, 1990.

They contended that MLAs had no legal authority over LG&RD projects but were being given arole through a socalled Dastoor-ul-Amal (LG Manual), which lacked legalbacking.

Following the 2022 local body elections, it was the government`s responsibility to implement all provisions of the LG Act, 1990, and allo-cate funds through elected LG representatives.

However, the petitioners alleged that the authorities were attempting to circumvent the law by issuing unconstitutional and unlawful summaries, demonstrating a lack of commitment to the smooth functioning of LG institutions.

They urged the court to restrain the respondents from allocating or transferring any funds to MLAs, arguing that such actions violated legal and constitutional provisions.

Opposing their stance, Advocate General Sheikh Masood Iqbal contended that the petitioners were not directly aggrieved and therefore had no legal standing to invoke the constitutional jurisdiction of the high court.

However, in its judgment, authored by Justice Ejaz, the bench observed that a combined reading of the AJK Interim Constitution, 1974, the LG Act, 1990, and other applicable laws made it evident that LG institutions had exclusive authority over LG&RD development schemes, with a welldefined legal framework in place for their implementation.

The court ruled that the government was constitutionally and legally bound to allocate and transfer all LG&RD development funds to the respective local bodies.

As a settled principle of law, any administrative action must be performed strictly in accordance with prescribed procedures, and any deviation rendered such actions null and void, the bench said.

Referring to Article 44 (2) (a) (i) & (ii) of the Interim Constitution, the bench noted that the high court had the authority to direct government functionaries to act in accordance with the law and to refrain from unlawful actions.

Simultaneously, the court was empowered to declare any act or proceeding taken without lawful authority as having no legal effect.

Accepting the petitions, the court directed the government to fully implement the LG Act, 1990, and allocate all LG&RD development funds exclusively to local councils across AJK. It also barred the allocation and release of any such funds to MLAs.