The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Thursday raised questions over a 2024 judgment of the Supreme Court (SC) that had paved the way for demolishing infrastructure developed by the Monal Group of Companies, La Montana, and Gloria Jeans inside the picturesque Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP). The SC had ordered the closure of Monal and the adjacent La Montana restaurant on August 21, 2024, and they were closed the following month to protect the park’s biodiversity.
FCC Hearing on Review Petition
A three-member FCC bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi took up a review petition moved by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) challenging the SC’s directions to the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) to take possession of the restaurants—namely Monal, La Montana, and Gloria Jeans—situated inside the MHNP. The CDA and the Islamabad Capital Territory Police were also ordered to assist the wildlife board in this regard. The SC had also ordered that the entrances to the area where the restaurants were located be barricaded, after which the infrastructure would be demolished—with minimal disturbance to wildlife and without damage to the trees of the national park.
Previous Dismissal of Review Petitions
On September 10, 2024, the SC had dismissed a similar set of review petitions moved by the Monal Group of Companies, the Capital View Point Restaurant (La Montana), Sunshine Heights (Pvt) Ltd, and Brig (retd) Falak Naz Bangash of the Defence Ministry. While rejecting the review petitions, the SC had also termed the status of Monal Group’s Luqman Ali Afzal as no better than that of a trespasser, saying he had no legal right to continue possession of the land at the MHNP. Likewise, the running of restaurants by the owner of La Montana and Gloria Jeans was also in disregard of the provisions of the Islamabad Wildlife (Protection, Preservation and Management) Ordinance.
Federal Government's Support for CDA
During Thursday’s hearing, the federal government, through Additional Attorney General Chaudhry Aamir Rehman, supported the CDA’s review petition against the demolition orders concerning the restaurants. It stated that the judgment was not sustainable in the eyes of the law, as besides Monal, around 113 other similar structures still existed in the Margalla Hills.
FCC Questions SC's Decision
During the hearing, the FCC also raised questions over the SC’s decision to demolish the restaurants, stating that the judgment suggested that animals had rights but not humans. Justice Rizvi recalled that the impugned judgment came despite the fact that Monal’s lease revision case was pending before the civil court, in addition to intra-court appeals by some restaurants pending before the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Arguments from Restaurants' Counsel
Senior counsel Ahsan Bhoon, on behalf of the restaurants, contended that all parties were in agreement that the case should be allowed to proceed in the civil court. However, Justice Rizvi observed that courts are never run on the basis of agreements between parties, saying that the kind of decision the SC had given could not be overturned by consensus among them. He indicated that a detailed order would be issued if it was decided that the SC’s orders were to be overturned, stating that the FCC did not want to impose its decision “just like that”.
Case Adjourned
Later, the bench adjourned the proceedings of the case until the second week of July.
