Ch. Imran Hassan Ali represented the sponsors and management of Al-Haram City before the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, in a Constitution Petition challenging an illegal notice issued by National Accountability Bureau (“NAB”). Al-Haram City is a major private real estate developer of the twin cities. Through the said notice, NAB had summoned the sponsors and management of Al-Haram City in connection with some contractual disputes and regulatory matters that do not fall within jurisdiction of NAB.
On 29-09-2021, the petition was heard by a Division Bench of the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench. After lengthy arguments, Deputy Prosecutor NAB conceded that the notice had been issued in violation of law and stated that the notice under challenge was being withdrawn. Consequently, the High Court disposed of the petition in light of the said conceding statement.
On 02-07-2021, the Honourable Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, directed the concerned Union Council to lodge a criminal complaint against a man who had forcibly married a minor girl as well as against the Nikahkhwan and the witnesses of Nikah.
A man, with the help of his friends, abducted the minor niece of his former wife and managed to register a so-called Nikah (marriage) with her in the Union Council. It is an offence under the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, to marry or to facilitate marriage of a minor. However, under the 1929 Act, prosecution of the accused could only take place if the concerned Union Council made a complaint to the relevant court. In this case, despite repeated requests of the mother of the minor, the Union Council refused to lodge a complaint against the accused.
Ch. Imran Hassan Ali represented the minor girl and her mother before the High Court in a petition seeking a direction to the Union Council to make the complaint.
On behalf of the accused and the Union Council, it was argued that the Union Council had a discretion in the matter. However, the Court disagreed and held that it was obligatory for the Union Council to lodge a complaint before the relevant court for prosecution of the persons accused of violating provisions of the 1929 Act.
The judgment has since been reported at PLD 2021 Lahore 783.
Ch. Imran Hassan Ali is representing the Petitioners in a Constitution Petition before the Supreme Court of Pakistan challenging the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Power Crushers (Installation, Operation and Regulation) Rules, 2020, as being ultra vires of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Power Crushers (Installation, Operation and Regulation) Act, 2020 (KPK Act No. 1 of 2020) as well as the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973.
On 15-01-2021, the Registrar of the Supreme Court refused to register the Constitution Petition and declared that under the Cosntitution such a petition could not be filed directly before the Supreme Court. He observed that the Petitioners should first approach the relevant High Court with their grievance.
The Petitioners challenged the said order of the Registrar through a Miscellaneous Appeal. On 12-04-2021, Ch. Imran Hassan Ali was heard in support of the appeal by the Honourable Justice Mushir Alam in chambers who allowed the appeal and overruled the objections of the Registrar and directed him to register the Constitution Petition so that it may be taken up by the Court on the judicial side.
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Ch. Imran Hassan Ali is representing a hapless father in an international parental child abduction case. Both father and mother are British nationals of Pakistani heritage.
During a legal battle over custody of their daughter – at present about 7 years old – the mother removed the child from the United Kingdom in violation of a Prohibited Steps Order by a Family Court in England. She married a Pakistani man and brought the child to Pakistan. The father instituted legal proceedings in Pakistan but the mother removed the child from Pakistan and took her to the UAE. The father pursued the matter before UAE authorities. In the meantime, the child’s British passport expired and the Family Court in England restrained the Passport Office from issuing her a new British passport. However, the mother procured a Pakistani passport for the child and brought her to Pakistan. The father again filed a petition before a Sessions Judge in Pakistan but it was dismissed.
Ch. Imran Hassan Ali was engaged to represent the father in the High Court. He filed a habeas corpus petition in the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, on behalf of the father. However, once again the mother removed the child from Pakistan and this time took her to Brunei. On 09-02-2021, the High Court took a serious view of this evasive attitude of the mother and ordered the Interior Ministry of Pakistan to cancel the Pakistani passport of the child. It also directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to write to the British High Commission in Pakistan to cancel the British Passport of the mother.
The father’s quest to have contact with his daughter is not over yet. But the mother seems to be running out of options. The High Court’s orders will help to pin her down.
On 02-11-2020, Ch. Imran Hassan Ali appeared before the Supreme Court to represent the Respondents in a Petition for Leave to Appeal. The case pertained to a valuable commercial property at a prime location. The Respondents are the original owners and bona fide purchasers. The Petitioner was aggrieved of a judgment of the Lahore High Court whereby his claim for specific performance of an alleged agreement to sell the property in his favour had been declined. The Supreme Court dismissed his petition.
Ch. Afrasiab Khan, ASC, successfully represented Konish Enterprise (Pvt.) Ltd. before the Supreme Court of Pakistan in an appeal filed by Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd. (“PTCL”) against a judgment of the Peshawar High Court. The judgment is reported at PLD 2020 SC 261.
Under a contract with the National Highways Authority (“NHA”), Konish was engaged in the business of planting and maintaining tens of thousands of trees along certain roads in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. PTCL started laying an underground optic fibre cable along the same roads and damaged a large number of plants in the process. Konish sued PTCL for damages. The Civil Judge allowed Konish’s claim. The Peshawar High Court upheld the judgment of the Civil Judge. PTCL appealed to the Supreme Court where Konish was represented by Ch. Afrasiab Khan, ASC.
PTCL argued that the suit filed by Konish was incompetent as proper authority to institute the same, whether by way of the relevant resolution of the Board of Directors or the company’s Articles of Association, had not been produced. The Supreme Court dismissed this objection. Mr. Justice Munib Akhtar, writing for the Court, relied upon Pak Turk Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd. v. Turk Hava Yollari (Turkish Airlines Inc.) [2015 CLC 1] to hold that it was not necessary to produce such an authority in this case.
PTCL also argued that it owed no duty of care to Konish as it had entered NHA’s property under a valid license from NHA and it was impossible to work that license without damaging Konish’s plants. Mr. Justice Munib Akhtar held that a duty of care did exist and that there can be no doubt that the record establishes that PTCL worked its license in a manner that caused injury and damage to Konish.
The Supreme Court dismissed PTCL’s appeal and upheld the judgment for damages in favour of Konish.
The Government of the Punjab, School Education Department, made gross violations of merit in respect of appointment of Educators by misinterpreting the qualifications criteria prescribed by the relevant rules. Some candidates who had been wrongly deprived of appointment despite being fully qualified challenged the rejection of their candidature through a Writ Petition before the Lahore High Court. They were represented by Ch. Imran Hassan Ali. Their Petition was allowed and the High Court declared that they were fully qualified and their candidature had been wrongly rejected.
The Government filed an Intra-Court Appeal before a Division Bench of the Lahore High Court. Once again, Ch. Imran Hassan Ali successfully represented the candidates. The Government’s appeal was dismissed.
The Government then appealed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. However, on 01-06-2020, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the judgment of the High Court.
The Government has already issued appointment letters to the aggrieved candidates. They have joined service.
We have been engaged to advise Fauji Electric Power Company Ltd. in respect of a dispute with the Government of Balochistan. The dispute involves a vast area of land in Lasbela, Balochistan. It includes legal issues surrounding installation of an oil pipeline by Fauji Foundation’s partner, BYCO/Universal Terminal Ltd., as well as a mining lease.
Ch. Imran Hassan Ali, ASC, had initial success at the Supreme Court on 01-11-2019 at the preliminary hearing of a Constitution Petition that challenges the National Command Authority (Amendment) Act, 2016, as being unconstitutional. After hearing preliminary submissions, the Court issued notice to the Attorney General for Pakistan.
The amendment Act was promulgated to nullify a judgment of the Supreme Court in Shafique Ahmed Khan and others vs. NESCOM etc (PLD 2016 SC 377), which had declared that the rules governing terms and conditions of service of NCA employees were statutory. The Act declares that these rules are non-statutory. It is aimed at creating a Master and Sevant relationship between NCA and its employees, including employees of the 13 strategic organisations that are controlled by NCA. If allowed to stand, this amendment will oust the jurisdiction of the High Courts in cases of wrongful dismissal or removal from service and other grievances of NCA employees.
Update: On 23-01-2020, a differently constituted bench of the Supreme Court disposed of this Constitution Petition after allowing the Petitioner to amend his Writ Petition already pending before the Lahore High Court and directed the High Court to decide the question of vires of the NCA (Amendment) Act, 2016.
Ch. Imran Hassan Ali, ASC, enjoyed double success while representing SKB-KNK Joint Venture before the Supreme Court of Pakistan. SKB-KNK Joint Venture (“the contractor”) built the Rainee Canal for the Water and Power Development Authorirty (“WAPDA”). A dispute arose as to the amount due to the contractor in respect of a certain category of work. The contractor invoked arbitration clause of the agreement. The arbitrators found in favour of the contractor and awarded Rs. 250 million. WAPDA filed an appeal. The Honourable Lahore High Court initially dismissed the appeal in default but then re-admitted it by allowing WAPDA’s time-barred application. The contractor engaged Ch. Imran Hassan Ali, Advocate Supreme Court, to file a Civil Petition for Leave to Appeal in the Honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan. The Court granted leave to appeal. Eventually, the appeal was also allowed after a detailed hearing and the order of the Lahore High Court was set aside on 13-02-2018 with the consequence that the award of Rs. 250 million in favour of the contractor was upheld.
WAPDA filed a Review Petition and was initially successful in convincing the Court to issue notice to the contractor. Once again Ch. Imran Hassan Ali was instructed by the contractor. After two lengthy hearings, WAPDA’s Review Petition was also dismissed. The Honourable Supreme Court upheld the award of Rs. 250 Million in favour of our client, SKB-KNK Joint Venture.