Lahore High Court Restrains Implementation of Rs 60 Billion LESCO Land Dispute Compensation
LAHORE, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 27th Aug, 2026) The
Lahore
High Court (LHC) on Thursday temporarily restrained the implementation of an order directing compensation in a decades-old land dispute involving the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) and a private claimant, with approximately Rs60 billion at stake.
Justice Jawad Hassan passed the interim directions while hearing a petition filed by LESCO under Article 199 of the Constitution. The petition challenges an order dated July 1, 2026, as well as a letter issued on August 21, 2026, concerning the implementation of earlier recommendations for payment of compensation to the claimant.
The court observed that the petitioner had raised an arguable jurisdictional question regarding the basis on which the compensation was being implemented. It noted that the claimant’s ownership of the disputed property was itself under challenge and that the matter was pending before a competent civil court.
LESCO’s counsel submitted that the dispute concerns 45 kanals and 17 marlas of land in Mouza Khudian, Tehsil and District Kasur. He maintained that the claimant’s title to the land is defective and that the provincial government is the actual owner.
He stated that the Wafaqi Mohtasib’s recommendations of April 12, 2013, had not contemplated unconditional payment of compensation. Where ownership was in doubt, verification through the Revenue Department had been envisaged.
Similarly, a subsequent decision dated February 2, 2015, passed by the President’s Secretariat, required a site inspection with the assistance of senior Revenue Department officials and examination of the relevant record to determine the precise area lawfully owned by the claimant and actually occupied by the agency before compensation could be paid, he added.
He further submitted that a civil suit was pending before the Civil Court, Kasur, in which interim relief had been granted in favour of LESCO on May 8, 2023. He also submitted that implementation proceedings had subsequently been closed by the concerned authority through an order dated September 16, 2024.
He questioned the jurisdiction of the Wafaqi Mohtasib in a matter involving disputed ownership, possession and entitlement to compensation for immovable property, stating that the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction primarily relates to injustice arising from maladministration and cannot ordinarily be used as a substitute for civil adjudication of disputed proprietary rights.
At this, the court noted that the claimant’s entitlement to compensation appeared, prima facie, to depend upon establishing lawful ownership of the land and determination of the precise area occupied by LESCO.
