SC dismisses appeals against SHC order in TRG shareholding dispute

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday dismissed a set of appeals instituted by Greentree Holdings Limited (GTH) against a June order by the Sindh High Court (SHC), which had held that GTH shares were the property of private equity firm The Resource Group Pakistan (TRGP). The dispute revolves around a challenge to a June 20, 2025 SHC judgement, in which the SHC had allowed an application of former TRG CEO Muhammad Ziaullah Khan Chishti to be filed under company laws. In its order on June 20, 2025, the SHC had ruled that shares held by GTH in TRGP (the respondent) were the property of TRGP, and would be deemed to have been purchased by the latter from its shareholders. The court had also ordered TGRP’s Board of Directors to issue notice for an extraordinary general meeting of the company immediately to elect directors, adding that the new board of directors would decide whether to retain or cancel these treasury shares after the elections. A three-judge SC bench, headed by Justice Naeem Akhter Afghan alongside Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, rejected three appeals against the SHC’s order on Monday, and directed that the appellants would jointly bear the legal costs of respondent No. 1 (Chishti). “We intend to pursue a defamation case against the group, which was moved against the social media campaign against the respondent,” Advocate Muhammad Shehzad Shaukat told Dawn while appearing on behalf of Chishti, adding that in this case, the cost ran into the millions. The SC, in its short order, granted leave to appeal in “C.P.L.A. No.2543/2025 titled ‘Greentree Holdings Limited, Hamilton HM11, Bermuda v. Muhammad Ziaullah Khan Chishti, etc.’; C.P.L.A. No.871-K/2025 titled ‘The Resource Group International Limited (TRGI) v. Muhammad Ziaullah Khan Chishti, etc.’; and C.P.L.A. No.872-K/2025 titled ‘The Resource Group Pakistan Limited (TRGP) v. Muhammad Ziaullah Khan Chishti, etc.’”. “The petitions are converted into appeals, which are all dis