The Lahore High Court appointed Barrister Ch. Imran Hassan Ali and Mr. Muhammad Ilyas Sheikh as amici curie (friends of the court) in a case. It was a double honour for Imran. To be appointed as amicus curiae by the High Court is always a great honour. It was an additional honour to be appointed alongside Mr. Muhammad Ilyas Sheikh as Mr. Sheikh is one of the most prominent and experienced civil lawyers of the country, based in Rawalpindi.
The case involved important questions regarding inheritance rights of—and the validity of relinquishment of inheritance rights by—women. In also required interpretation and proper application of sections 11 and 12 and Order XXIII, Rule 1 and 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
On 11-03-2026, Barrister Ch. Imran Hassan Ali appeared before the court and made submissions as amicus curiae. Accepting the submissions of the amici curiae, the Court dismissed the civil revision application with costs.
The judgment has been reported at 2026 LHC 1762 and can be downloaded from the Lahore High Court website by clicking here.
All praise is for Allah alone!
Imran Hassan Ali, ASC, has represented the successful petitioner in a writ petition before the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, challenging the order of the Chief Settlement Commissioner Punjab through which he had cancelled the allotment of land in favour of the petitioner.
The petitioner is a refugee from the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and was allotted land by the Government of Pakistan in 1979. Acting upon application of the petitioner’s tenants, the Chief Settlement Commissioner cancelled her allotment.
On 10-03-2026, after hearing detailed oral arguments, the Court set aside the CSC’s orders, declaring them to be without lawful authority and of no legal effect.
The judgment has been reported at 2026 LHC 1747 and can be downloaded from the Lahore High Court website by clicking here.
On 23-02-2026, Barrister Ch. Imran Hassan Ali and Mr. Sheikh Zameer Hussain were appointed as amici curiae (friends of the court) in multiple cases. It is a double honour for Imran. To be appointed as amicus curiae by the High Court is always a great honour. However, in this case, it is a special honour to be appointed amicus curiae alongside Mr. Sheikh Zameer Hussain who is the most senior and eminent lawyer based in Rawalpindi. All praise is for Allah alone!
The cases involve proper interpretation and application of various provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
Watch this page for further updates on this story.
On 11-02-2026, the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, appointed Barrister Ch. Imran Hassan Ali, ASC, as the amicus curiae (friend of the court) in a case pertaining to the Punjab Land Acquisition Rules.
The Petitioners are seeking return of their land that was acquired for the purposes of a railway line for the Mangla Dam project. They argue that the land is no more required for the project and should be returned to them.
This appointment is a great honour for Imran. All praise is for Allah alone!
Watch this page for updates on this case.
Rawalpindi: The Lahore High Court (Rawalpindi Bench) has allowed a writ petition challenging the rejection of an application seeking amendment of a written statement, holding that courts must permit bona fide corrections necessary to determine the real controversy between parties.
Ch. Imran Hassan Ali, ASC, represented the successful petitioners.
Through judgement announced on 19 January 2026, Justice Jawad Hassan set aside the orders of the trial court and the appellate court, which had declined amendment under Order VI, Rule 17, of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
The petitioners had sought to correct what they described as inadvertent typographical errors in their written statement, where references to an “exchange deed” were mistakenly made instead of a “sale deed,” forming the foundation of their defence. The lower courts had held that the proposed amendment would change the nature of the defence and could not be allowed.
Allowing the petition, the High Court observed that the defence of the petitioners throughout was premised on a sale deed dated 21 August 1980, and the incorrect references to an exchange deed appeared to be clerical mistakes rather than an attempt to introduce a new plea or withdraw an admission. The Court held that refusal to permit such limited and necessary amendment amounted to a failure to exercise jurisdiction vested by law.
Justice Jawad Hassan reiterated that Order VI Rule 17 CPC confers wide discretion on courts to allow amendments at any stage of proceedings if they are essential for determining the real questions in controversy and do not prejudice the opposite party. He emphasised, “[P]rocedural rules are handmaids of justice and not its mistress. The object of pleadings is to define the issues, not to penalise a party for a bona fide clerical error.”
Consequently, the High Court allowed the amendment application
The judgement has been approved for reporting and can be downloaded from the Lahore High Court website by clicking here. (Opens in new tab)
On 28-09-2021, Ch. Imran Hassan Ali was appointed amicus curiae (friend of the court) by the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, to assist the Court in a case raising questions of first impression regarding proper interpretation of various provisions of Orders IX and XXXVII of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
The case was finally heard by a full bench of the Court on 27-11-2025 and 03-12-2025 when Imran had the honour of appearing before the full bench.
The judgment is reported at 2025 LHC 7173 and can be downloaded directly from the Lahore High Court website by clicking here.
It was a great honour for Imran. All praise is for Allah alone!
On 11 December 2025, the Lahore High Court appointed Ch. Imran Hassan Ali, ASC, as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in a matter relating to Family Law. The case raises important questions concerning the true scope and interpretation of sections 17 and 17-A of the Family Courts Act, 1964.
The case was heard and decided in March, 2026, after hearing submissions of the amicus curiae.
The appointment is a significant professional distinction for Imran.
All praise is due to Allah alone!
On 16 December 2025, the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, brought to a close a decades-old family property dispute that had started in 1992. The case involved the interplay between customary law and Islamic Shariah.
The litigation centred on whether property inherited under customary law could later be subjected to the principles of Shariah following statutory developments. After being contested before the Civil Court and the first appellate court, the matter reached the High Court as a Civil Revision Application in 2013.
Appearing for the successful party, Ch. Imran Hassan Ali, Advocate, advanced the pivotal legal submission that the Shariah Application Act could not be applied retrospectively to property that had already vested in his client under customary law prior to the Act’s enforcement. The Court accepted this contention, holding that inheritance governed by customary law before the statutory shift could not be reopened on the basis of subsequently applicable Shariah principles.
Allowing the revision application, the High Court set aside the judgment of the Additional District Judge, thereby restoring the rights accrued under customary law and conclusively resolving the long-running dispute.
In 2016, the Government of the Punjab initiated compulsory land acquisition proceedings on behalf of Lucky Cement (Pvt.) Ltd. for setting up of a cement plant and limestone quarry in village Buchal Kalan, District Chakwal. The project would have dispossessed a large number of villagers of their ancestral agricultural land. It would have stripped them of their identity, which is inextricable linked with their land. It would also have created unbearable environmental hazards for the population of surrounding villages. They would have been deprived of their right to life guaranteed by Article 9 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973. The villagers instructed Ch. Imran Hassan Ali, Advocate Supreme Court, to challenge the compulsory acquisition of their land through a Constitution Petition before the Honourable Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench. The Court accepted Imran’s arguments at preliminary hearing of the case and issued an injunction restraining the Respondents from dispossessing the villagers. The Respondents initially instructed Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, the then President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, to seek vacation of the injunction. However, the Court refused to vacate the injunction.
The case remained pending for almost 8 years and came up for final hearing on 13-11-2025, when the Honourable Mr. Justice Ch. Sultan Mahmood was pleased to allow the petition. Imran’s submissions highlighted procedural irregularities and misapplication of statutory provisions—deficiencies the Court found material enough to vitiate the impugned proceedings. The Court emphasised that executive authorities must act strictly within the bounds of law and cannot override vested rights through defective processes. Consequently, the Court quashed the notice for acquisition of the Petitioners’ land.
For media coverage of this case, please click on the following link:
Awan Foundation is an NGO that undertakes various types of not-for-profit projects for public welfare. On 14-01-1999, the Government of Punjab leased out 48 kanals of land in village Malikwal, Talagang, to the Petitioner for purposes of building aa school to provide free education to children from disadvantaged segments of the society. However, the Deputy Commissioner cancelled the lease deed after a couple of years. Awan Foundation successfully challenged the cancellation before the Civil Judge. Government’s appeal also failed.
The Government then brought a civil revision application before the Lahore High Court (Rawalpindi Bench). Ch. Imran Hassan Ali, ASC, represented the Awan Foundation before the High Court. After hearing both sides, Justice Mirza Viqas Rauf dismissed the Government’s revision application on 01-12-2025.