Court sends notices to OGRA, secretaries

Petitioner challenges regulator’s oil price revision powers

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday put on notice Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) chairman, federal secretaries for law and petroleum, deputy attorney general and other respondents for an unspecified date in a case challenging Ogra’s powers to set prices of petroleum products.

In a petition filed with a division bench of SHC, comprising Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Nisar M Shaikh, one of the petitioners, Imran Shehzad from an NGO, argued that Ogra ordinance, promulgated by the President of Pakistan, lapsed after 120 days in November or December 2009 as it was not tabled in either the National Assembly or the Senate for approval.

The petitioner contended that after this Ogra lost powers to revise prices of petroleum products and termed all decisions taken by the authority since then “illegal”.

He said an amendment made in Section 43(b) was also a violation of the fundamental rights of citizens enshrined in the 1973 Constitution.

“Unless a new law is passed or new amendment is made with a legal cover, Ogra has no role in deciding prices of petroleum products,” said the petition.

After hearing initial arguments, the court ordered issuance of notices to all respondents as well as deputy attorney general for a date to be fixed later.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2012.