ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court released detailed reasons on Friday for partially reversing the Supreme Court’s Monal case ruling. It found that earlier proceedings denied affected parties a fair hearing.
Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi authored the 44-page judgment. It explains the court’s July 13 order accepting review petitions from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad.
Its decision overturns specified parts of the Supreme Court’s August 21, 2024 judgment. It holds that the subsequent September 10, 2024 review judgment cannot survive independently.
Judges rejected an absolute prohibition on restaurants in Margalla Hills National Park as inconsistent with the governing law. They held that the proper question concerns whether particular buildings or activities harm the park’s protected purpose.
Read: FCC Sets Aside Monal Demolition Order at Pir Sohawa
Public facilities remain subject to environmental safeguards and legal conditions.
The judgment makes clear that CDA approval cannot legalise activities that environmental law prohibits. Disputes over ownership, leases and rent require evidence before a civil court.
Rizvi described the earlier proceedings as a “grave miscarriage of justice”. Courts had made final findings on disputes that belonged before the civil court, without adequately hearing affected parties.
He held that judicial findings must rest on evidence, the record and the law. Judges removed observations about personal relationships and political affiliations because the record did not support them. They concluded that the Supreme Court bench should have refrained from hearing the case in those circumstances.
Rizvi said an inquiry commission’s report cannot serve as conclusive proof of disputed facts.
The constitutional court also rejected the claim that restaurant operations caused fires in the Margalla Hills. It found no evidence establishing that connection.
Judges struck down the direction entitling the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board to restaurant rent. They ordered it to immediately deposit any rent withdrawn or recovered under the earlier judgment into the public exchequer.
A civil court must consolidate the related suits and add the federal government as a party. It must decide the cases promptly on their merits, without relying on previous judicial findings.
Affected parties may apply afresh for interim relief before the civil court. Pending intra-court appeals remain for separate determination on their merits and under the law.
