# The government built a road on your land and never paid. Is the land gone? > No. The state can take private land for a public purpose, but only under a law and only with compensation. In November 2023 the Supreme Court said so plainly about a road built on nine marlas of private land that was never acquired and never paid for: "a person can only be compulsorily deprived of property provided compensation therefor is paid." (2024 SCMR 22, para 3). - Topic: Property and inheritance - Court: Supreme Court of Pakistan - Citation: 2024 SCMR 22 - The myth: "If the government builds a road on your land, it's gone: nobody can fight the sarkar." Verdict: Wrong. - Watch: https://failegal.site/media/government-road-on-private-land-compensation-pakistan-2024-scmr-22 (video https://failegal.site/media/government-road-on-private-land-compensation-pakistan-2024-scmr-22/reel.mp4, 1:15) - Published by FAI Legal on 2026-10-29 It refused the Government of Punjab's petition, called it "a classic example of frivolous litigation", and ordered the government to pay the owners within thirty days, plus one million rupees in costs (para 4). ## Key points - A road built on private land without acquisition or payment does not make the land the government's; the owner won in the appeal court, the High Court and the Supreme Court (paras 1 and 4). - Article 24 of the Constitution allows compulsory acquisition only for a public purpose and under a law that provides for compensation. - The Supreme Court ordered the requisite compensation within thirty days and Rs 1 million in costs, and sent the order to the Chief Secretary, Punjab (para 4). - Under the Land Acquisition Act 1894 the Collector must tender payment before taking possession (section 31); even in urgent cases the department must first deposit the estimated cost (section 17). - If you dispute the amount, apply in writing to the Collector for a reference to the court within six weeks of the award (section 18); a reference filed a year late was refused in 2024 SCMR 2071. ## Can the government build a road on your land without paying? The short answer No. In Province of Punjab v. Zulfiqar Ali (2024 SCMR 22), decided on 13 November 2023, a road had been built on nine marlas of private land. The land was never acquired under the Land Acquisition Act 1894 and no compensation was paid (para 1). The Supreme Court refused the government's petition and ordered it to pay. The rule behind it is in the Constitution. Article 24(1) says "No person shall be deprived of his property save in accordance with law", and Article 24(2) allows compulsory acquisition only for a public purpose and under a law that provides for compensation. The Court put it in one line: "a person can only be compulsorily deprived of property provided compensation therefor is paid." (para 3). ## Nine marlas and a road: what happened The Government of Punjab built a road on nine marlas of land in Gujranwala district. In the Supreme Court the Additional Advocate General was asked whether the land had been compulsorily acquired, gifted, or taken under an agreement with the owner. He answered no (para 2). The owner sued in 1997. The suit was dismissed, but the appeal was allowed on 19 September 2009, and the Lahore High Court upheld the appeal court's judgment on 26 October 2020 (para 1). The government still filed a petition in the Supreme Court, signed on 3 February 2021 (para 2). ## What the Supreme Court decided in November 2023 A bench of Qazi Faez Isa CJ, Amin-ud-Din Khan and Athar Minallah JJ heard the petition; the order is by the Chief Justice. The Court called it "a classic example of frivolous litigation, and that too by those whose salaries are paid by the taxpayers of the country", brought over "a matter of little financial significance" (para 3). It noted that this was "the fourth Court before which the Government of Punjab is a party", that public resources and court time had been wasted, and that the owners must have spent money and time on a case that "should have never seen a court of law" (para 4). "The government and its servants are there to serve the people. In this case, land was taken without compensating the respondents." Leave was refused, the petition dismissed, and the Government of Punjab was directed to pay the owners "requisite compensation, within a period of thirty days from the receipt of this order", plus one million rupees as costs (para 4). ## If the government needs your land: the lawful way Land is taken under the Land Acquisition Act 1894, which each province applies with its own amendments. The Collector publishes a notification that land in the locality is needed for a public purpose (section 4); a person interested can object in writing to the Collector within thirty days of the notification under section 5 (section 5A); the Collector then makes an award fixing the compensation. When the court decides compensation, it starts from the market value at the date of the section 4 notification and adds fifteen per cent for the compulsory nature of the acquisition when it is for a public purpose (section 23). Payment comes before possession: the Collector "shall, before taking possession of the land, tender payment of the full amount of compensation awarded by him" (section 31(1)). Even in urgent cases under section 17, the Commissioner can direct possession only after the department has deposited the estimated cost of acquisition. ## The catch: six weeks to object to the price If you do not accept the award, section 18 lets you ask the Collector, in writing, to refer the matter to the court, whether your objection is to the measurement, the amount, who is paid, or how it is shared; state your grounds. If you were present or represented when the award was made, apply within six weeks of the award; otherwise within six weeks of the Collector's notice under section 12(2) or six months from the award, whichever ends first. Courts hold owners to this. In Fazli Akbar Khan v. Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (2024 SCMR 2071), owners whose land was taken for a school playground filed their reference a year after the award; the Collector refused it as time-barred, and in September 2024 the Supreme Court refused leave. Also note section 31(2): a person who takes the money "otherwise than under protest" cannot later apply under section 18, so if you dispute the amount, receive it under protest. ## What to do if a road or a project takes your land Keep your ownership record (the fard, the registry or mutation, and the khasra numbers), with photos and the date the work began. Ask the Collector's office for the section 4 notification and the award. If there was no notification or award at all, as in this case, see a lawyer about a suit for compensation: this owner's suit, filed in 1997, ended with the Supreme Court ordering payment. Officials: the Court expects "a much higher standard" from the government and its law officers, and it sent its order to the Chief Secretary, Punjab (para 4). Paying lawful compensation costs less than four courts and Rs 1 million in costs. ## For law students and lawyers The order is short but useful: it ties the Article 23 and 24 rights to the duty of state counsel not to bring petitions without merit, and it awards Rs 1 million costs against a province for doing so (paras 3 and 4). The Court also recorded who signed the petition and who engaged the advocate-on-record (para 2). For the owner's side, read it with 2024 SCMR 2071: the section 18 conditions, including the time limit, are "jurisdictional facts" whose compliance is a condition precedent to a reference, following Gul Zaman v. Deputy Commissioner/Collector Gwadar (2024 SCMR 481), so a court cannot entertain a reference that was not validly made. ## The case at a glance - **Facts:** The Government of Punjab built a road on nine marlas of private land in Gujranwala district without acquiring it under the Land Acquisition Act 1894 and without paying. The owner sued in 1997; the suit was dismissed, the appeal allowed on 19 September 2009, and the Lahore High Court upheld that on 26 October 2020. The government petitioned the Supreme Court in 2021. - **The question:** Should the Supreme Court grant the government leave to appeal against the decision in the owners' favour for land taken for a road without acquisition or compensation? - **What the Court held:** Leave refused and the petition dismissed. The Government of Punjab must pay the owners the requisite compensation within thirty days of receiving the order, and Rs 1 million as costs. - **Why:** The Constitution guarantees the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property (Articles 23 and 24), and a person can be compulsorily deprived of property only if compensation is paid. The land was not acquired, gifted or agreed for, so the petition had no basis: frivolous litigation at public expense. - **Limits:** A short order on its own facts: it does not fix the amount ("requisite compensation") or explain how it is worked out. Acquisition under the Act for a public purpose with compensation stays lawful, and objections to an award must meet section 18's time limits. ## In the Court’s words > "On nine marlas of land a road was constructed by petitioners." (2024 SCMR 22, para 1) ## The law it relies on - **Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, Article 24:** "(1) No person shall be deprived of his property save in accordance with law. (2) No property shall be compulsorily acquired or taken possession of save for a public purpose, and save by the authority of law which provides for compensation therefor..." - **Land Acquisition Act, 1894, Section 31(1):** The Collector "shall, before taking possession of the land, tender payment of the full amount of compensation awarded by him to the persons entitled thereto according to the award". - **Land Acquisition Act, 1894, Section 18:** A person interested who has not accepted the award may, by written application to the Collector, require a reference to the Court: "within six weeks from the date of the Collector's award" if present or represented; otherwise six weeks from the section 12(2) notice or six months from the award, whichever ends first. - **Land Acquisition Act, 1894, Sections 4, 5A, 17 and 23:** Notification that land is needed (s.4); written objections within thirty days (s.5A); urgent possession only after the estimated cost is deposited (s.17(1)); market value plus fifteen per cent for a public purpose (s.23). ## What this does not mean - It does not mean the government can never take land. It can, for a public purpose, under the Land Acquisition Act and with compensation (Article 24(2)). - It does not fix the price. The order says "requisite compensation"; the amount is worked out under the law (para 4; section 23). - It does not remove the deadlines. If you dispute an award, the section 18 clock is six weeks (or six months), and a late reference can be refused (2024 SCMR 2071). - It does not mean every case ends in costs. Rs 1 million was awarded here because the government's petition had no basis and wasted public money (paras 3 and 4). ## Questions people ask ### Can the government build a road on private land without compensation? No. Land can be taken only for a public purpose, under a law, with compensation (Constitution, Article 24). In 2024 SCMR 22 the Supreme Court ordered Punjab to pay owners whose nine marlas became a road without acquisition or payment. ### What is the land acquisition process in Pakistan? Under the Land Acquisition Act 1894: a section 4 notification, written objections within thirty days (section 5A), the Collector's award, and payment before possession (section 31). Provinces have their own amendments. ### How is land acquisition compensation worked out? From the market value at the date of the section 4 notification, plus damage such as crops or severance, and fifteen per cent more for a compulsory acquisition for a public purpose (section 23). ### What if I am unhappy with the compensation? Apply in writing to the Collector for a reference to the court within six weeks of the award if you were present or represented (section 18). If you take the money, take it under protest (section 31(2)). ### Sarkar ne zameen par sarak bana di, muawza milega? Haan. Sarkar zameen sirf qanoon ke mutabiq aur muawze ke saath le sakti hai (Aain, Article 24). Supreme Court ne 2024 SCMR 22 mein Punjab hukumat ko 30 din mein muawza aur das lakh rupay kharcha dene ka hukm diya. ### Muawze par aitraz kab tak? Award ke chhe hafte ke andar Collector ko likh kar darkhwast dein ke maamla adalat bheje (section 18). Ek saal baad ki darkhwast waqt guzarne par rad hui (2024 SCMR 2071). ## Sources - Province of Punjab through the Deputy Commissioner, Collector District Gujranwala and others v. Zulfiqar Ali and another, 2024 SCMR 22, Supreme Court of Pakistan, 13 November 2023, paras 1 to 4. A road on private land without acquisition or compensation: leave refused; compensation within thirty days and Rs 1 million costs. (verified against full text) - Fazli Akbar Khan and others v. Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through District Collector, Mardan and others, 2024 SCMR 2071, Supreme Court of Pakistan, 25 September 2024, paras 2 to 8. A section 18 reference filed a year after the award was time-barred; leave refused. (verified against full text) - Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, Article 24 (text checked in FAI Statute Search, 29 October 2026) (official text: https://pakistancode.gov.pk/english/UY2FqaJw1-apaUY2Fqa-apaUY2Fvbpw%3D-sg-jjjjjjjjjjjjj) - Land Acquisition Act, 1894, Sections 4, 5A, 17, 18, 23 and 31 (text checked in FAI Statute Search, 29 October 2026) ## What the reel says The government built a road on their land, and never paid. Is it gone for good? Can the government take your land without compensation in Pakistan? People say: you can't fight the government. Wrong. Nine marlas. A road went over them, with no acquisition and no payment. In 1997 the owner sued. The trial court said no; in 2009 the appeal court said yes; in 2020 the High Court agreed. The government still went to the Supreme Court. In November 2023 the Supreme Court called it "a classic example of frivolous litigation": no one can be forced off their property without being paid. Pay the owners within thirty days, plus Rs 10 lakh in costs (2024 SCMR 22). If the government needs your land: 1. It must follow the Land Acquisition Act and pay before it takes possession (section 31). 2. Unhappy with the price? Within six weeks of the award, ask the Collector in writing to send it to court (section 18). 3. Don't wait: a reference filed a year late was refused (2024 SCMR 2071). --- Educational legal information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. Speak to a lawyer about your own matter. Last checked: 29 October 2026. Review status: Pending advocate review. English: https://failegal.site/media/government-road-on-private-land-compensation-pakistan-2024-scmr-22 · Urdu: https://failegal.site/media/ur/government-road-on-private-land-compensation-pakistan-2024-scmr-22 FAI Media is part of FAI Legal (https://failegal.site), research on Pakistani statutes and judgments. Free to watch and read.