LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has held that a postman is under obligation to make report about the notice of Talb-i-Ishhad on the AD card and that the same was handed over to the petitioner/vendee or he refused to receive it.

Various courts repeatedly held that intention of law is not merely dispatching of a formal notice but it must be served on the addressee, the court added.

The court said the arguments of not receiving the AD card back or that it was lost is not acceptable. In its absence, the respondent has failed to fulfill the mandatory requirement of law. The withholding of the AD card compelled the court to draw adverse inference that notice Talb-i-Ishhad was not served upon the petitioner, the court added.

The court passed these observations in response to a petition filed by Muhammad Shafiq and observed that the respondent failed to prove due performance under the law, therefore, findings of the two lower courts are reversed.

The court setting aside the verdicts of both the courts held that the impugned judgments and decrees being classic example of wrong exercise of jurisdiction and misreading of evidence cannot be sustained in the eye of law.

According to the details, 13 kanals 7 marla land was sold out to the petitioner via oral sale mutation. This transaction was pirated by the respondent by filing a suit for possession claiming his superior right being Shafi Shareek, Shafi Khaleet & Shafi Jar.

The respondent pleaded that notice of Talb-i-Ishhad was dispatched to the petitioner through registered post AD. However, contents of plaint nowhere revealed that either said registered AD was delivered to the petitioner/vendee or he refused to receive the same.

The suit was decreed by trial court which was upheld by appellate court, hence this petition was filed to check legality and validity thereof.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022