SHC decides not to put off hearing of sugar millers’ plea

Court directs AGP to present argument in the case against inquiry body’s report today

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court on Wednesday rejected the federal government’s request to put off the hearing for a plea filed by sugar mill owners against a report prepared by a commission that probed into the country’s sugar crisis.

A two-member bench, comprising Justice KK Agha and Justice Omar Sial, also sought the attorney general for Pakistan’s (AGP) argument in the case on Thursday (today).

Advocate Makhdoom Ali Khan, the counsel for mill owners, argued that the inquiry commission’s report was not a judicial order, adding that the prime minister and the federal cabinet were also subject to the country’s laws and Constitution and did not have unrestricted authority.

“What impression would there be if PM Imran Khan and the cabinet declare the report a criminal act? How would the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) or Customs officials go against the government’s statement?” he asked.

The counsel further maintained that the special assistant to the PM on accountability, who had now been promoted to the status of an adviser, had interfered in the investigation without any authority.

“Even the prime minister does not have the authority to open any FBR official’s records,” he maintained.

Justice Sial remarked that it was surprising that the prime minister could not issue directives to the FBR.

The lawyer argued that the premier had the authority to remove the FBR chairperson but could not open anyone’s accounts, claiming that tax records were confidential. He further said the then SAPM’s directives issued to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general were illegal.

The court directed the deputy attorney general, Kashif Paracha, to present his argument. Paracha told the court that the AGP would appear in court in person to present the argument and asked the court to extend the date of the next hearing.

The court remarked that the bench would not be available next week and the case had to be concluded soon as per the Supreme Court’s orders. It rejected the request and directed the AGP or the additional attorney general to present the argument on Thursday.

The Islamabad High Court has already rejected sugar mill owners’ petition against formation of the inquiry commission and allowing the government to take action against them based on its reports.

The sugar inquiry commission – headed by the FIA chief – was formed to probe into a sudden shortage of sugar that resulted in a steep hike in its prices in January this year.

In its preliminary report – unveiled on April 5 – the commission had claimed that sugar mills belonging to the families of the country’s top politicians including PML-N’s Shehbaz Sharif, PTI’s Jahangir Tareen and Khusro Bakhtiar and PML-Q’s Moonis Elahi were among the beneficiaries of the crisis.

In its forensic report – issued on May 21 – the commission had accused the sugar mill owners of earning illegal profits to the tune of billions of rupees through unjustified price hikes, benami transactions, tax evasion, misuse of subsidy and purchasing sugarcane off the books.