Ignoring limitation law, registered documents and revisional jurisdiction amounts to legal error: SC

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th May, 2026) The Supreme Court of Pakistan, in an important ruling, has held that ignoring the law of limitation, the legal status of registered documents, and the limits of the High Court’s revisional jurisdiction in a property dispute constitutes a serious legal error that may affect the validity of a judgment.

The detailed judgment, approved for reporting, was issued by a two-member bench comprising Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan and Justice Shakeel Ahmad after hearing a review petition.

According to the judgment, the dispute related to property, where the parties had claimed ownership on the basis of different registered sale deeds and revenue entries.

The court observed that the suit was instituted in 2005, whereas the principal documents connected with the dispute dated back to 1978, 1989 and 1991, indicating that the matter had been brought before the court after a considerable delay.

The apex court held that the law of limitation carries fundamental importance and that claims filed after unreasonable and unexplained delay become legally non-maintainable.

<?php /*?> <?php */?>

The court stated that disregarding this principle amounts to a legal error.

The judgment further noted that registered documents are deemed to constitute public notice under the law and that their remaining unchallenged for a long period strengthens their legal validity.

The court also clarified that the revisional jurisdiction of a High Court is limited in scope and does not ordinarily permit reappraisal of evidence or reversal of concurrent findings of the trial court and appellate court unless there is a manifest legal or factual error on the record.

The Supreme Court held that these fundamental legal principles had been overlooked in the present case, resulting in a legal error.

Allowing the review petition, the apex court set aside the earlier judgment and restored the decisions of the trial court and the appellate court.