Public accounts committee: Showdown looms over court registrar snub

PAC chief says lower house should take action against Dr Faqir.

ISLAMABAD:

After months of deadlock over the Supreme Court registrar’s refusal to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the parliamentary watchdog has referred the matter to the National Assembly – a move that could reignite tensions between the executive and the judiciary.

The PAC, which has bipartisan support, took the unanimous decision behind closed doors on Tuesday after the apex court registrar, Dr Faqir Hussain, snubbed the panel in an earlier public statement and refused to appear for scrutiny of the court’s accounts.

The committee is to table a special report on the Supreme Court in the National Assembly today (Wednesday) with a request to either convene a joint session of parliament or a special session of the lower house to take a decision over what action to take at the earliest, PAC Chairperson Nadeem Afzal Chan said while addressing a press conference.

Till 2005, the registrar used to appear before the PAC – a practice discontinued since then. The committee has been urging the Supreme Court to review its decision since 2008. Eminent jurists and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) have also supported the PAC’s stance and have urged the apex court to change its stance which, they say, is in violation of the Constitution.

Chan said the Constitution binds the registrar to appear before the PAC and that there was consensus in both civil society and media that the PAC was well within its limits to demand his presence. The PAC chairman said it would be up to parliament to decide whether a reference should be filed against Hussain and whether the Constitution or relevant laws should be amended to exempt the court from audit or contempt of Parliament.



“The PAC also discussed the option of issuing warrants for the registrar but took a lenient view and dropped the possibility out of respect for the judiciary,” Chan said.

The PAC made it clear that it did not want to discuss the conduct of judges, saying it was unrelated to the appearance of the registrar before the committee. Chan said it is the registrar who is responsible for ensuring the transparent and prudent use of taxpayers’ money, not the judges.

Due to the apex court’s refusal to allow Hussain to appear before the PAC, grants worth billions of rupees, approved by parliament over the last one decade, are pending for settlement before the PAC. The auditors have highlighted various instances of mismanagement, including excessive budget utilisation, and even excessive saving.

The Supreme Court is of the view that since its allocations are made out of the Federal Consolidated Fund, they cannot be discussed by the PAC. Chan maintains that the PAC cannot exempt the court from audit because then other departments like the Presidency, Senate, National Assembly, Election Commission of Pakistan and Auditor General of Pakistan would also claim exemptions. These departments also receive their budget allocation from the Federal Consolidated Fund.

Chan emphasised that every institution is funded by taxpayers and that taxpayers have given the mandate of ensuring transparent use of their money to Parliament. The PAC chairperson added that after the 18th amendment, no institution can claim immunity from audit.


Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2012.