Additional Attorney General KK Agha requested the bench, headed by Justice MA Shahid Siddiqui, to refer the review of the parliamentary committee (pc) case to the 17-member full court since its verdict may influence the outcome of the 18th amendment case.
No article of the constitution was challenged in the petitions; the decision was awarded only on the point that the parliamentary committee (PC) went beyond its limits, Justice Jawad S Khawaja observed. Agha contended that a decision against the PC, which has practically become dysfunctional, may be reviewed before the full court. The court should proceed with the case once the 18th amendment case has been decided. Parliament did not make Supreme Court’s October 21 short order in the 18th amendment case a part of the 19th amendment. “It is not clearly mentioned in the 19th amendment that the decision of the parliamentary committee is immune from judicial review,” Justice Tariq observed.
The verdict discussed the PC’s jurisdiction in the light of the judiciary’s independence by interpreting Article 175-A of the constitution. The court has announced its judgment on this point, therefore it cannot be referred to another bench.
“You should review only those points of the judgment which were not addressed in your opinion. We cannot permit arguments on the merits of the case,” remarked Justice Jawad Khawaja. The case was adjourned till Thursday (today).
Meanwhile the chief justice has warned the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of stern action if the accused in the Pakistan Steel Mills case escape from the country.
Director FIA, Mozzam Jah submitted a report which Justice Sair Ali observed to be merely paperwork.
Investigation was initiated on suo motu notice in 2007, Jah said. The chief justice asked why investigation was not initiated from the point at which corruption had started. The court ordered secretary industries to continue to supervise the investigations and directed FIA to take action against offenders. The case has been adjourned for two weeks.
In the ISAF containers case, Chairman Federal Board of Revenue Salman Siddique informed the bench that 2981 containers went missing from Chaman which resulted in the evasion of Rs7 billion in taxes. Data from Torkham border has also been collected. He informed the court that 408 people have been served notices and another 2573 people will soon be summoned. He submitted two reports before the court covering the investigation from January 2008 to June 2010. The court adjourned the hearing for four weeks.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 14th, 2011.
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