The KP government and ombudsperson’s appeals in the property ownership dispute are denied by the SC.

The appeals filed by the provincial ombudsman and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government in a matter involving property ownership and distribution were dismissed by the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Both the government and the ombudsman lack the legal authority to file an appeal when private parties remain silent on the issue, according to Justice Musarrat Hilali, who ruled that the appeals were inadmissible.

In addition, it made clear that the ombudsman, in his or her role as a judge, lacked the standing of a party to the case and was unable to appeal its rulings in lower courts.

Being a quasi-judicial authority, the ombudsman is not impacted by the ruling as a party to the dispute and must maintain objectivity.

The KP government had no legal basis to appeal the decision because it did not own the contested land and did not personally incur any losses as a result of it, the Supreme Court stressed in its ruling.

If the real claimants were to appeal, the court also promised that their rights to the property would not be impacted.

In the case, Shabbir Khan and other private parties contested property ownership and distribution, with the KP Women’s Ombudsman making the initial decision in accordance with the Women Property Act 2019.

But because it went beyond its authority, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) declared the ombudsman’s verdict to be invalid.