Overview
- A three-member Lahore High Court bench led by Chief Justice Aalia Neelum set aside all District Resolution Committee proceedings in property possession disputes under the Punjab Property Ownership law.
- The court directed that more than 1,500 pending petitions be transferred for fresh hearings before the designated tribunal under the amended ordinance.
- The amendment moves adjudication from executive-run DRCs to tribunals staffed by serving Additional District and Sessions Judges with a 30-day decision mandate.
- The revised law introduces biometric complaint filing and permits sentences of up to five years for filing false claims.
- The Advocate General argued earlier challenges lost force after the changes, the court deferred constitutional scrutiny to a later stage, and tribunal decisions remain appealable to the High Court and the Supreme Court.