The Punjab Property Ownership Amendment Act has formally come into force, with property tribunals now constituted across all districts of the province to adjudicate land disputes.
The Lahore High Court Chief Justice Aalia Neelum has appointed 36 Additional Session Judges as heads of these tribunals, covering every district, with the list forwarded to the provincial government.
In a significant procedural development, stay orders in 575 pending cases have been withdrawn, with all these matters now transferred to the newly established tribunals for further proceedings.
The tribunals have been granted jurisdiction to hear cases involving illegal occupation of land and property disputes, drawing authority directly from the provisions of the amended legislation.
DC-led committees have already prepared and submitted their recommendations on land encroachment cases to the respective tribunals, advancing the process of adjudication under the new framework.
The tribunals have also been empowered to order recovery of illegally occupied properties with police assistance, while convicted individuals may face 3 to 10 years of imprisonment and millions of rupees in fines.
Under the amended law, any party to a case pending before another court may apply for its transfer to the DC-led committee, although the decision on such requests rests with the relevant court.
Earlier, Chief Justice Aalia Neelum had suspended proceedings under the original Punjab Property Ownership Act over concerns about its alleged misuse by those in positions of authority.
Following amendments introduced by the Punjab government to address those concerns, all pending stay orders before the Lahore High Court have since been vacated across the province.
The 36 newly appointed Additional Session Judges will now discharge their duties as tribunal heads, with transferred cases proceeding under the mechanism established by the amended legislation.
