ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court has overturned an earlier Supreme Court order that had directed the demolition of the popular Monal Restaurant in the Margalla Hills, accepting appeals filed by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI).
The court also vacated the previous stay order and directed the trial courts to independently decide the pending land ownership cases, without being swayed by earlier judicial observations on the matter.
During the hearing, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi observed that several legal and technical aspects had not been adequately examined in the earlier Supreme Court verdict. He remarked that the Constitutional Court would base its decision strictly on the record before it, and not on emotion.
The bench ruled that the question of land ownership would be settled by the trial courts on merit, while regulatory and administrative matters concerning the site would be handled by the relevant authorities.
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The case traces back to a June 2024 Supreme Court verdict — authored under then Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa — which had ordered the closure and demolition of all commercial establishments, including Monal Restaurant, within Margalla Hills National Park on environmental grounds.
The land where the restaurant once stood has been mired in a long-running legal dispute involving the CDA, the MCI, and military authorities. The restaurant had already been demolished earlier in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order. With the Constitutional Court’s latest ruling, the case now returns to the trial courts for a fresh decision based on evidence and applicable law.
