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Petitioner: GHULAM MUHAMMAD VS Respondent: MUHAMMAD RAFIQ
1988 S C M R 1560
1988 S C M R 1560
Present: Muhammad Afzal Zullah and Saad Saood Jan, JJ
GHULAM MUHAMMAD‑‑Petitioner
versus
MUHAMMAD RAFIQ‑‑Respondent
Civil Petition No.1115 of 1983, decided on 22nd May, 1988.
(From the judgment dated 10‑5‑1983 of the Lahore High Court in Civil Revision No.55U‑1) of 1983).
Punjab Pre‑emption Act (I of 1913)‑‑
‑‑‑Ss. 21 & 22‑‑Constitution of Pakistan (1973), Art.185(3)‑‑Pre emption‑‑Default in deposit of purchase price within time‑‑Reader of Court intimating incorrect date for the purpose‑‑Consequence of‑‑Leave to appeal granted to consider question: Where Reader of a Court issues a chit indicating date by which a certain act is to be done, can an illiterate litigant be penalized for acting on the information contained therein?
Abdul Waheed Butt, Advocate Supreme Court and Syed Abid Nawaz, Advocate‑on‑Record for Petitioner.
Nemo for Respondent.
Date of hearing: 22nd May, 1988.
ORDER
SAAD SAOOD JAN, J.‑‑The petitioner's suit for pre‑emption was decreed by a Civil Judge at Gujrat on 23‑4‑1975. In the judgment delivered by the learned trial Court, he was called upon to deposit the purchase price by 3‑5‑1975. However, the Reader of the Court gave him a chit wherein it was stated that the purchase money was to be deposited by 14‑5‑1975. The petitioner obtained certified copies of the judgment and decree on 9‑5‑1975. It was then that he learnt that the Reader of the Court had misinformed him with regard to the date of deposit. He filed an appeal before the Additional District Judge‑and produced the chit given to him by the Reader. The learned Additional District Judge dismissed his appeal. He then approached the High Court in revisional jurisdiction but without any success. He now seeks leave to appeal from this Court.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner has produced before us the chit which was given to him by the Reader. The chit is in a torn condition. It is stated that it was torn into pieces by the Ahalmad of the trial Court. However that may be, the pieces when joined together read as follows:‑
It is to be noticed that illiterate litigants are usually provided with chits by the Readers and Ahalmads of the Civil Courts informing them about the dates by which certain acts are required to be done or to which the proceedings have been postponed. The question for consideration is where Reader of a Court issues a chit indicating the date by which a certain act is to be done, can an illiterate litigant be penalized for acting on the information contained therein. This question requires consideration. Leave to appeal is granted. Security for costs in the sum of Rs.5,000. The appeal may be made ready for hearing on the present record with permission to the parties to file additional documents, if necessary. The petitioner should paste the pieces on a sheet of paper and produce them at the time of hearing of the appeal. In the meanwhile, he should place a photostat copy of the sheet on the record.
M.I.IG‑104/S Leave granted.