Court order: Brief reprieve for power firm to reimburse funds

SC grants three more days to rental power plant company to reimburse advance payments.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday granted three more days to the Techno Sahuwal Rental Power Company (TSRPP) to reimburse the Rs970 million advance it received from the government for power generation.

“The money cannot be transferred today since all the banks are closed on Friday which is a gazetted holiday in Dubai,” the company’s counsel, Raja Anwarul Haq informed the three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

The attorney asked for an extension in the deadline and assured the bench that the money would be deposited in the national exchequer on Monday.

He requested the court to remove the condition of depositing the money with mark-up, upon which Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday remarked that you should obey the court order and not bargain with the bench.

The Supreme Court on Thursday had directed TSRPP to reimburse the advance payment it had received from the government in line with the contractual agreement for power generation by today along with mark-up and submit a report to the court.

If the company fails to comply with the order, an FIR will be registered against its proprietor. The court has adjourned the case till January 17.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th,  2011.