Lawyer approaches SC over car repair bill

Withdraws two-year long case over Rs10,000 charge after court observes case was frivolous litigation

ISLAMABAD: The highest court of the country on Wednesday almost had to adjudicate on a trivial issue that, according to legal experts, should have been settled at the level of consumer courts.

The Supreme Court, which already has over 30,000 pending cases to hear, on Wednesday took up the plea of a lawyer against an automobile service company which he has accused of overcharging him Rs10,000.

Advocate Sardar Shaukat Hayat contended that the company overcharged him Rs10,000 for repairs to his car some two years ago. In those two years, he first filed a plea against the company in a lower court, where his case was dismissed. A high court then maintained the lower court order. Not satisfied, he approached the apex court seeking “exemplary punishment” for officials of the company.

On Wednesday, a three-judge judge bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa was left wondering why such a case was brought before it. A 2015 SC report found that the average cost of processing one case at the Supreme Court is more than Rs75,000.

Qazi Naeem, counsel for the petitioner, stated that they wanted that company to be punished.

"You should punish the repair company but not the courts," said Justice Khosa.

The bench also observed that the case falls under the category of frivolous litigation and the court may impose costs on the petitioner for this.

When the bench gave this observation, the counsel quickly agreed to withdraw the petition and avoid paying the cost of litigation.