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SC: Ombudsman Cannot Decide Complex Property DisputesPakistan
The Supreme Court has ruled that the ombudsman can only restore clear ownership in women’s property cases, and that complex disputes over title and inheritance must be decided by civil courts.
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The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that the ombudsman does not have the authority to make final decisions in complex property disputes, declaring that contested matters involving ownership and inheritance must be resolved by civil courts.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Ayesha A. Malik and Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui delivered the ruling in an eight-page judgment authored by Justice Malik. The court set aside the decisions of the ombudsman and the Peshawar High Court in a case concerning women’s property rights, and ordered that the disputed property matter be sent to the competent civil court.
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The case concerned about 39 kanals of land at Mandai Khas, Alam Gudder, near Dogra Hospital in Bara, District Khyber. The court held that under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act, 2019, the ombudsman’s jurisdiction is strictly summary in nature and limited to the restoration of clear, undisputed ownership.
Where a case involves complex questions of title, intricate legal issues or disputed facts that require detailed investigation and the recording of evidence, the court said, it falls outside the ombudsman’s summary domain. In such circumstances, Section 6 of the Act requires the ombudsman to refer the matter as a formal reference to the competent civil court, to be tried as a regular civil suit.
The court observed that both the ombudsman and the Peshawar High Court had failed to apply this requirement properly, despite the presence of several complex disputes in the case. It outlined four main reasons why the matter was unfit for summary proceedings, including competing claims over the property and questions that could only be settled after evidence had been recorded.
The Supreme Court directed that the ombudsman transfer all records, applications and reports to the court of Civil Judge-1 Bara, where a civil suit over the same land is already pending. The civil court will consolidate the reference under Section 6 of the Act with the pending suit and treat it as the petitioners’ formal claim, resolving the title dispute after recording regular evidence.
The court also directed the civil court to issue notices to the parties to appear within 15 days and to dispose of the case within a reasonable period, without unnecessary delay.
In its judgment, the court observed that the 2019 Act provides important legal protection for women, and that prompt and effective legal action is necessary against the unlawful deprivation of women’s property. But it stressed that the Act is an enforcement mechanism for established or easily determinable titles, not a forum for adjudicating complex, unproven property claims.
The ruling clarifies the limits of the ombudsman’s powers in property cases and is expected to guide similar disputes, ensuring that contested ownership and inheritance matters are decided by civil courts after a full trial rather than through summary proceedings.
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