IHC stops eviction of One Constitution Avenue apartment owners

ISLAMABAD – The Islamabad High Court has barred authorities from evicting apartment owners and sub-lessees of One Constitution Avenue until further orders. The case was heard by Justice Muhammad Azam Khan and Justice Inam Amin Minhas on intra-court appeals filed by several apartment owners, including former air chief Mujahid Anwar Khan, former ICC president Ehsan Mani and former Senate chairman Wasim Sajjad. The appellants challenged part of an earlier single bench ruling concerning the protection of third-party rights linked to the apartments. During the hearing, counsel representing the Capital Development Authority (CDA) informed the court that the CDA chairman had recently returned from abroad and a response had been submitted on the matter. The bench questioned whether apartment owners’ rights had been considered when the matter was previously before the Supreme Court and observed that the challenged order appeared to recognize certain rights of the residents. Lawyers representing the apartment owners argued that the CDA had already acknowledged the residents’ rights in the past and had also collected lease-related payments from them. They further stated that a residents’ committee had been managing the building and that a government committee was also reviewing the issue. The court also questioned CDA officials over how residents had been allowed to occupy the building despite the absence of a completion certificate. After hearing arguments from both sides, the high court directed that apartment owners should not be evicted until further orders in the case.