Bulletproof NOC : Court stays notification to seal car retrofitter
The interior ministry had ordered withdrawal of the Karachi-based company’s NOC.
Islamabad High Court. PHOTO: IHC WEBSITE
ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday issued a stay on directions issued by the interior ministry to the Sindh government to cancel the NOC of a company which retrofits stock vehicles into bulletproof ones.
On June 22, the interior ministry issued a letter directing the Malir Additional Deputy Commissioner Waseemuddin to suspend a no-objection certificate issued to the company in 2012 and to also seal its premises.
While issuing the stay, IHC judges Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb also directed interior ministry officials to submit a reply by June 30.
Pak Armoring CEO Khurram Hamirani through his counsel Malik Tahir Mehmood challenged the letter, stating that officials at the interior ministry were “inimical to his company and they have issued the letter with mala fide intension, which is an illegal act”.
Apart from ministry officials, the petitioner has also made Waseemuddin a respondent in the case.
The petitioner’s counsel said that the government granted permission to his client to retrofit vehicles in February, 8, 2012, and since then the company has been doing business without a single complaint against it at any forum.
He said that no complaint against the firm was pending before the interior ministry, nor had the officials issued any show cause notice to conduct a formal inquiry before issuing the letter. He added that no opportunity was provided to his client to defend the case.
“The acts of the respondents are against the fundamental rights as well as the rights of trade and business as guaranteed by the constitution,” the petitioner said.
He has prayed the court to set aside the notification and direct the respondents not to seal the company.
Following the hearing, while issuing stay on the notification, the court directed the officials of the interior ministry to submit a reply by June 30.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 25th, 2016.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday issued a stay on directions issued by the interior ministry to the Sindh government to cancel the NOC of a company which retrofits stock vehicles into bulletproof ones.
On June 22, the interior ministry issued a letter directing the Malir Additional Deputy Commissioner Waseemuddin to suspend a no-objection certificate issued to the company in 2012 and to also seal its premises.
While issuing the stay, IHC judges Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb also directed interior ministry officials to submit a reply by June 30.
Pak Armoring CEO Khurram Hamirani through his counsel Malik Tahir Mehmood challenged the letter, stating that officials at the interior ministry were “inimical to his company and they have issued the letter with mala fide intension, which is an illegal act”.
Apart from ministry officials, the petitioner has also made Waseemuddin a respondent in the case.
The petitioner’s counsel said that the government granted permission to his client to retrofit vehicles in February, 8, 2012, and since then the company has been doing business without a single complaint against it at any forum.
He said that no complaint against the firm was pending before the interior ministry, nor had the officials issued any show cause notice to conduct a formal inquiry before issuing the letter. He added that no opportunity was provided to his client to defend the case.
“The acts of the respondents are against the fundamental rights as well as the rights of trade and business as guaranteed by the constitution,” the petitioner said.
He has prayed the court to set aside the notification and direct the respondents not to seal the company.
Following the hearing, while issuing stay on the notification, the court directed the officials of the interior ministry to submit a reply by June 30.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 25th, 2016.