The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday granted major relief to renowned singer and qawwal Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in a hereditary property dispute, setting aside a trial court’s decision that had dismissed his appeal over non-payment of court fee.

The LHC restored the appeal and directed Rahat to deposit a fine of Rs100,000.

According to an eight-page verdict issued by Justice Muhammad Sajid Mahmood Sethi, Rahat had approached a civil court seeking confirmation of possession over a double-storey house measuring one kanal and nine marlas (approximately 7,895 square feet) in Faisalabad. However, the civil court had passed a decree against him on May 14, 2019.

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Rahat later challenged the ruling before the trial court, but the appeal was dismissed on technical grounds after the singer failed to deposit a court fee of Rs15,000 within the stipulated time. Following the dismissal, Rahat moved the LHC for relief.

The LHC observed that dismissing an appeal merely on the basis of non-payment of court fee was against the principles of justice, adding that courts should avoid rejecting appeals solely on technical defects. The judgment further noted that the trial court had granted only four days for submission of the court fee, which was insufficient.

The court emphasised that the right of appeal is a valuable legal right and should not be taken away on technical grounds, stressing that cases should be decided on merit. It subsequently directed all parties to appear before the relevant court on June 2 and instructed the trial court to decide the appeal strictly on merit within two months without granting unnecessary adjournments.