Plea against sugar inquiry report put on hold

High court will resume hearings after apex court issues verdict on the matter

The Sindh High Court (SHC) adjourned on Tuesday the hearing of a plea challenging the sugar inquiry commission report for an indefinite period, stating that the proceeding would resume after the Supreme Court (SC) issued a verdict on the matter.

A two-member bench, comprising Justice Omar Sial and Justice Zulfiqar Ali Sangi, adjourned the hearing after the federal government submitted its reply on the plea.

The plea states that the sugar inquiry commission wasn't formed in accordance with the law and the members of the commission were a part of a previous inquiry, during which they had developed against sugar mills owners. The petitioner has claimed that the members of the inquiry commission have been biased during the inquiry and promoted the idea that all sugar mills have been functioning illegally.

A representative of the attorney general of Pakistan maintained at the hearing that a similar plea on the sugar inquiry commission report was filed in the SC therefore the hearing of the plea filed in the SHC should be adjourned until the apex court's verdict.

The court adjourned the hearing for an indefinite period, until the issuance of the SC's verdict on the report, however upholding the restriction on the federal government and other authorities, barring them from taking action in connection with the report or against the petitioner.

Pilots' fake degrees plea

The same bench rejected the request to conduct the hearings of a plea pertaining to the fake degrees of pilots on priority basis.

Advocate Zain A Soomro maintained at the hearing that the initial investigation report on the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash in Jinnah Garden Street was presented by Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan on June 22. The report declared that the pilot and air traffic controller were responsible for the crash, he said. Soomro claimed the aviation minister had stated that 262 pilots in the country held fake degrees, following which the International Federation of Airline Pilots Association expressed concerns on the matter.

He further alleged that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had failed to fulfill its responsibility and moved the court to restrict the CAA from issuing new licences to pilots, while also ordering that it improved the process of issuing the licenses. He requested the court to approve the plea for an immediate hearing.

Rejecting the petitioner's request, Sial remarked that the SHC could not conduct a hearing on the issue.

Petroleum products' price hike plea

The bench also rejected the request to conduct the hearing of a plea challenging the increase in the prices of petroleum products on priority basis.

The petitioner has maintained in the plea that the federal government has made an increase of Rs25.58 per litre in the price of petrol without consulting the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority. He has further claimed that the decision by the Centre was made for the benefit of oil companies who have earned billions of rupees in profit as a result.

The plea moves the court to declare the increase in the prices of petroleum products illegal and order the authorities to reduce the prices.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2020.