Special judicial allowance: Top officials summoned to justify contempt notice to AGP

ISLAMABAD:

A capital court has issued notices to top officials including Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Dr Shoaib Suddle to explain why he issued contempt notices to the auditor general (AGP).

Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Anwar issued notices to the FTO, Attorney General Irfan Qadir and the law secretary in response to petition filed by the AGP who had challenged the contempt notices issued to him. During the preliminary hearing, counsel for petitioners Saeed Khursheed argued that as per a notification of the law and justice division issued in March 2010, only Supreme Court judges and their staff were entitled to the Special Judicial Allowance. He requested the court to set aside the contempt notices.

On March 20 AGP Muhammad Akhtar Buland Rana and his deputy Manzar Hafeez Mian filed a petition challenging the contempt notices for halting the Special Judicial Allowance, which the FTO was drawing. The next date for hearing is to be fixed by the registrar’s office.

The FTO had issued contempt notices to the petitioners under Section 16 of the FTO Ordinance, 2000, for halting the Special Judicial Allowance. The petitioners maintained FTO was exclusively mandated to check tax maladministration, while the disbursement of salary or allowance was the domain of the controller general of accounts in light of the 2001 ordinance.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2013.