Fast-track property laws notified

The government has formally issued a gazette notification introducing new laws aimed at ending the years-long delays in cases related to the division of property and ancestral inheritance. Certified copies of the new legislation and SOPs have been circulated to district and sessions judges, all revenue department officers, commissioners, deputy commissioners, additional deputy commissioners (revenue), patwar circles and tehsildars to ensure effective implementation. Under the new notification, hearings in property partition cases will now be conducted electronically instead of through traditional paper files. Litigants will be able to access details of their hearings online from home. The time frame for deciding partition cases has been reduced from 180 days to 60 days. If a revenue officer fails to decide a case within 60 days, it will automatically be transferred to the assistant commissioner. Across Punjab, legal heirs will also be able to mutually divide inherited property through a simplified process. To ensure speedy dispute resolution, cases may be referred to a mediation committee. The time limit for filing an appeal has been fixed at 30 days and appellate decisions must also be made within 30 days. Factors causing procedural delays have been eliminated and no appeal will be allowed against interim orders. The government has implemented these changes through amendments to the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1967. Commenting on the new law, District Bar Association President Tariq Mahmood Sajid Awan said meaningful results would depend on effective implementation. He noted that although the earlier law required decisions within 180 days, cases often dragged on for up to 10 years. While the time frame has now been reduced, its practical impact remains to be seen. Currently, nearly one million cases related to property and ancestral land disputes are pending across Punjab in courts, competent authorities and revenue boards, many of them pending for one to five years. He urged the government to issue immediate orders to dispose of pending cases within 40 days, warning that if old cases continue to linger, new cases may not be taken up for three to four years.

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