Apex court annuls notification allowing use of luxury cars

Ministers are not satisfied with any car less than Pajero, CJ remarks

KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) annulled on Wednesday a notification issued by the provincial government regarding the use of luxury cars.

Chief Justice (CJ) Mian Saqib Nisar headed the bench that heard the matter at the SC Karachi registry.

All applications submitted from the provinces pertaining to luxury cars have been clubbed by the apex court and they would be heard in the federal capital.

During the proceedings, the advocate-general (AG) informed the apex court that 149 luxury cars had been taken into custody. The CJ asked where those cars were being kept and how they would be used in the future, to which the AG replied that a central pool had been formed for such cars and rules for their use had also been formulated.

The new notification pertaining to the use of luxury cars was submitted to the SC. According to the notification, the luxury cars could be used for special purposes and field work, for which a daily rent of Rs25,000 would have to be paid.



Justice Nisar remarked that it meant that the Sindh government had started to rent out the cars. He remarked that the notification had been issued with ill-intention and it would allow ministers to use the cars for entire day. The ministers are not satisfied with any car less than a Pajero, Justice Nisar said.

The hearing was adjourned till June 28.

Land allotments

The SC also granted approval for the lease of five-acre land on the Super Highway at the cost of Rs500,000 per acre for poultry farms.

Justice Nisar remarked that serving in a capacity of judge for the past 21 years, he was well aware how land was illegally allotted. The allotment and lease of lands should be done in a transparent manner, he said, adding that an open auction should be conducted before leasing or allotting a piece of land. What was the problem in going for the open auction, the CJ remarked.



The CJ inquired whether the parties concerned agreed over the lease cost of Rs500,000 per acre. He observed that the current value of land should also be taken into account.

The apex court also stopped the allotment of 524 acres of land for the energy department and sought details of the lease and allotment of all the government-owned lands in the province.

No land will be allotted if the deal is not transparent, the SC remarked. The court also observed that those who did not participate in the auction would have no right on the land. The SC also directed the authorities concerned to submit reports on more than 40 similar petitions.