Haripur consumer court: Presiding officer position vacant for weeks

Absence of revenue-generating mechanism, backlog of cases detrimental to taxpaying public

HARIPUR: Haripur’s consumer court has been devoid of a presiding officer (PO) for several weeks, official sources told The Express Tribune here on Monday.

The consumer court began functioning in the district a few years earlier and lawyers said it served as a swift and cost-effective source for justice to consumers.

Lawyers said that the monthly disposal rate of consumer related cases at the court was around 60 to 70 in an average month.

The court provided relief to consumers having grievances against various parties that generate fines of up to Rs1.8 million in the last 15 months.

PO Munira Abbasi was transferred from Haripur on January 19 and was posted as a district judge in Charsadda.

Tariq Pervez was appointed to replace her, but his transfer order was reversed by the Peshawar High Court on January 26, creating a vacancy.

Haripur District Bar Association General Secretary Sadaf Sardar confirmed that the seat was still vacant.

The general secretary demanded the post of consumer judge be filled at the earliest, owing to the increased backlog of cases as well as the piling up of daily complaints.

She added that the taxpaying public would be deprived of a significant revenue-generating mechanism as well.

Sardar estimated that there was already a backlog of over 100 cases at the court.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2017.