Law: Punjab Pre-emption Act, 1991

Section: 24

(a) Words and phrases-------'Require'---Meaning.Black's Law Dictionary; Sardar Sakhawatuddin and 3 others v. Muhammad Iqbal and 4 others 1987 SCMR 1365 and Muhammad Lal v. Mohko and 2 others PLD 1979 SC (AJ&K) 15 ref.(b) Administration of justice------- Courts are to administer justice in accordance with the provisions of law.(c) Punjab Preemption Act (IX of 1991)----S. 24---Pre-emption money (Zar-e-Soem), deposit of---Omission of Trial Court to pass order for such deposit---Effect---Trial Court dismissed the suit of the pre-emptor on the ground that pre-emption money was not deposited 'within 30 days of filing of the suit---Appeal before Lower Appellate Court was also dismissed on the same ground---High Court allowed the second appeal and remanded the case to Trial Court for the reason that Trial Court had failed to pass any order qua deposit of pre-emption money as required under S.24 of Punjab Pre-eruption Act, 1991---Validity---Duty cast upon, Trial Court could not be avoided by saying that either of tile party had not, brought attention of the Court to mandatory provision of S.24 of Punjab Pre�emption Act, 1991---Applicatio_ n of provisions of law is the duty of the Court---Trial Court itself after filing of the suit had to pass order under the provisions of S.24 of Punjab Pre-emption Act, 1991, for deposit of one-third of sale price of suit property in cash. within such period as might be fixed by it---Such period would not be more than 30 days of filing of the suit---Where the provision of the Act was mandatory in .nature, non-compliance of the order of deposit by the pre-emptor was visited with the dismissal of the suit--Trial Court failed to comply with the mandatory provisions contained in S.24 of Punjab Pre-emption Act, 1990, and its order calling upon the pre�emptor to deposit one-third of the sale price within two days of the order was harsh as there was hardly a day for its compliance, keeping in view the amount to be deposited---Supreme Court deprecated such sort of approach by Trial Court in inflicting penalty of dismissal of suits upon innocent litigants with observation that function of the Court was not to simply dispose of the matter…