ISLAMABAD: Two weeks after it refused to entertain a similar request, the Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned an Islamabad High Court (IHC) order that directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to seal the hilltop Monal Restaurant situated at the picturesque Margalla Hills.
In January, the court of IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah ordered to seal the scenic restaurant following a probe into the construction of Monal and other eateries located on land reserved for Margalla Hills National Park.
The case is based on a petition filed by environmentalist Professor Zahid Baig Mirza and an appeal moved by the Monal Group against the order of a civil court related to the lease of its restaurant.
In 2006, the regulator leased out the restaurant — built with its own resources — to a private business for a period of 15 years at an annual rent of Rs3.12 million without an open auction.
The rent was nominal as compared to similar commercial businesses leased out by the authority. The regulator also said it had not levied property tax on the leaseholder, the regulator told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly in 2018.
However, in a twisting turn of events, the Remount Veterinary and Farms Directorate (RVFD), a wing of the General Headquarters (GHQ), in 2019 told CDA that Monal was in fact built on its portion of the land and now the military agency wanted “its land” back.
A CDA member told a National Assembly committee at the time that 15 years ago, the CDA “did not know it was building Monal Restaurant on military grasslands until the army started claiming it”.
The park was last demarcated in the 1960s.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court — headed by Justice Ijaz ul-Ahsan and comprising justices Muneeb Akhtar and Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi — announced the verdict.
“The magistrate had ordered to seal the restaurant without due notice […] the restaurants in the surroundings [of Monal] were notified before they were closed down,” the court said.
The bench further held the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) had sealed the restaurant without a certified order of IHC.
Justice Ahsan asked Makhdoom Ali Khan, the counsel for the restaurant, whether IHC issues a signed copy order. At this, he responded he “neither have the high court’s short order nor do I have the detailed verdict”.
The lawyer told the judge he had moved an intra-court appeal twice, but even before a hearing could take place, the case would be dismissed.
The judge asked the IWMB lawyer about the number of restaurants sealed by his board. “Gloria Jeans Cafe and La Montana have been issued notices so far,” the lawyer said.
Justice Naqvi resented the action against Monal Restaurant and asked: “Is it a monarchy that the emperor issued the decree and it was implemented before it was signed?”
The court then issued directions to the authorities to de-seal the restaurant.
