LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that all statutory requirements must be fulfilled before the auction of jointly owned property, stressing that transparency and protection of the rights of all co-owners are essential in judicial auction proceedings.
Justice Muhammad Sajid Mehmood Sethi issued the eight-page judgment on a civil revision petition filed by Ghulam Muhammad challenging the auction of property.
Internal Auction Mandatory Before Open Auction
According to the judgment, an internal auction is mandatory before proceeding to an open auction under the Punjab Partition of Immovable Property Act. The court held that an auction cannot be confirmed unless the reserve price has been properly determined in accordance with law.
The LHC further observed that merely receiving the highest bid does not cure legal deficiencies in the auction process.
Court Questions Rs3.65 Million Auction
The court questioned the confirmation of an auction at Rs3.65 million despite an earlier bid of Rs5 million and set aside the executing court’s order confirming the Rs3.65 million auction.
The executing court was directed to reassess the affected party’s share and determine its current market value. The purchaser will be given an opportunity to pay for the petitioner’s share according to the newly determined market value.
Auction May Be Held Again
If the purchaser fails to pay the determined amount, the petitioner’s share will be put up for auction again in accordance with law, the judgment said.
However, transactions concerning the other co-owners and the rights already acquired by the purchaser in relation to their shares will remain intact. The legal status of the preliminary decree concerning ownership and respective shares will also remain unaffected.
Case Remanded to Executing Court
The High Court partially allowed the civil revision petition and remanded the matter to the executing court for fresh determination, directing it to complete the proceedings within three months.