High Court Overturns Order Declaring Naval Farms, Sailing Club Illegal; Action Against Former Naval Chief Dropped

ISLAMABAD, Sep 2 (APP): The Islamabad High Court’s division bench has set aside the 2022 single-bench judgment declaring the Pakistan Naval Farms and Naval Sailing Club, located along Rawal Lake, illegal, while also quashing orders directing misconduct and criminal proceedings against former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral (Retd) Zafar Mahmood Abbasi.

The division bench comprising Justice Inam Amin Minhas and Justice Shahrukh Arjumand announced the verdict on intra-court appeals filed by the Ministry of Defence, former Naval Chief Admiral (Retd) Zafar Mahmood Abbasi and other parties. The court allowed the appeals and set aside the relevant portions of the single-bench judgment.

As a result of the latest judgment, the order for demolition of the Naval Sailing Club building has also been set aside. The directions declaring the Pakistan Naval Farms illegal and relating to its land have likewise been quashed.

The court also annulled the directions for initiating misconduct and criminal proceedings against former Naval Chief Admiral (Retd) Zafar Mahmood Abbasi. Similarly, orders for determining the alleged loss caused to the national exchequer, conducting a forensic audit and recovering the amount from officials held responsible have also been set aside.

The matter relates to a January 7, 2022 judgment issued by former Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah. In that judgment, the single bench had declared the Pakistan Navy’s Naval Sailing Club and the Naval Farms established near Rawal Lake illegal and ordered demolition of the Naval Sailing Club building.

The 2022 judgment had held that the Naval Sailing Club was established on an area along Rawal Lake that formed part of a protected national park. The court had observed that the Pakistan Navy did not have the requisite legal authority over the land.

The single bench had also directed that the Naval Sailing Club should not be regularized and that control of the Naval Farms be transferred to the relevant civil authority. The Pakistan Navy had further been directed to cease its activities on Rawal Lake and hand over the relevant land to the Small Dams Organization.

The court had also directed the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board to undertake measures for restoration of the natural environment around Rawal Lake. Dr Pervez Hassan, an expert in environmental law, had been appointed as a one-person implementation commission to assess environmental damage.

Under the 2022 judgment, the Auditor General had also been directed to conduct a forensic audit of the Pakistan Naval Farms and Naval Sailing Club and determine the loss allegedly caused to the national exchequer. Directions had also been issued for recovery of the alleged loss from responsible officials.

With regard to former Naval Chief Admiral (Retd) Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, the single bench had held that by inaugurating the Naval Sailing Club building, he had acted in violation of his oath and constitutional responsibilities. The federal government had been directed to initiate misconduct proceedings against him, while criminal proceedings were ordered against relevant officials.

The single bench had also declared certain mutations of the Naval Farms land in the name of Pakistan Navy Headquarters and certain no-objection certificates (NOCs) relating to the land illegal, directing the relevant civil authority to take control of the property.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Defence, the former Naval Chief and other concerned parties filed intra-court appeals against the single-bench judgment. The appellants had contended that the establishment of the Naval Farms and Water Sports Centre had been approved at the relevant government level and that the single bench had not correctly assessed the facts and legal issues involved in the case.

The Islamabad High Court’s two-member division bench has now allowed the appeals and set aside the 2022 single-bench judgment. Consequently, the orders concerning demolition of the Naval Sailing Club, the Naval Farms and its land, as well as directions for misconduct and criminal proceedings against former Naval Chief Admiral (Retd) Zafar Mahmood Abbasi and other officials, have ceased to have effect.