Table of Contents
- Introduction
- What Happened in the Case
- What the Petitioners Said
- What the Respondent Said
- Role of the Lawyer
- What the Law Says About Minors
- What the High Court Decided
- Final Court Order
- Why This Case Is Important
1. Introduction
This case is about how the courts must protect minors.
The Lahore High Court gave a clear message: do not pass judgments against minors without full legal protection.
The court sent the case back for a fresh trial.
2. What Happened in the Case
Zia Ullah Khan filed a case to force a deal.
The court decided the case without hearing the other side (ex-parte).
The other side (legal heirs of Saif Ullah Khan) later said they didn’t know about the case.
Some of them were minors at that time.
They asked the court to cancel the judgment.
But both the trial court and the appeal court rejected their request.
So, they went to the Lahore High Court.
3. What the Petitioners Said
The petitioners said:
- Their lawyer never told them about the court dates.
- They had no idea the case was moving forward.
- Statements were recorded without their knowledge.
- Some of them were underage when the judgment was passed.
One of them gave a statement and supported all these points.
4. What the Respondent Said
Zia Ullah, the other party, said:
- The petitioners knew about the case.
- Their lawyer filed replies in court.
- The same lawyer also appeared in another appeal.
- He claimed the case was handled fairly.
5. Role of the Lawyer
The lawyer hired by the petitioners didn’t do his job.
He didn’t inform them or appear properly.
The court passed a judgment without hearing from the petitioners.
This made the situation unfair, especially for the minors.
6. What the Law Says About Minors
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has made it clear:
- Courts must protect minors.
- A minor is under the court’s care.
- Courts must make sure minors have a proper guardian or lawyer.
- If the guardian fails, the court must replace them.
- No ex-parte decisions should happen against minors without full protection.
This rule is based on Article 10A of the Constitution and Order XXXII CPC.
7. What the High Court Decided
The Lahore High Court saw that:
- The lower courts ignored key facts.
- The petitioners gave strong and clear evidence.
- The courts didn’t protect the rights of the minors.
- There was misreading of the record and wrong application of law.
So, the High Court decided to cancel the earlier orders.
8. Final Court Order
The High Court said:
- The old judgments are set aside.
- The ex-parte decree is canceled.
- The case will go back to trial court.
- It will be heard again from the start.
- The court will now hear both sides fairly.
- The case will be assigned by the District Judge, Mianwali.
9. Why This Case Is Important
This case shows that courts must be careful when dealing with minors.
Even if a lawyer makes a mistake, the court must protect children.
No judgment should happen without giving everyone a fair chance.
The High Court has shown how important justice and fairness are in every case.