Five member bench to hear petition on LPG quota next week

Apex court forms seven benches to hear various cases, and two suo moto notices starting February 10.

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani on Saturday constituted seven benches and a larger bench for hearing a number of important cases during the next week, includinhg a five member bench to hear the a case on the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) quota allocations.

The five member bench comprising Justice Nasirul Mulk, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Iqbal Hameeur Rahman and Justice Mushir Alam will hear constitutional petitions under Article 184 regarding allocation of quotas for LPG.

In early December the Supreme Court had declared the 2003 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) quota agreement between the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited (JJVL) ‘null and void’.

In its detailed verdict on the LPG quota case, the court termed the deal ‘non-transparent’ and ordered the recovery of all losses incurred. It directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to conduct a thorough probe and submit a report within a month.

“The report shall identify all those who are responsible for the failings, including the acts of criminal negligence, corruption, corrupt practices or other offences,” read the court order.

Seven benches

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed would hear the cases including election matters of different members of National and Provincial assemblies.

The second bench consists of Justice Nasir-Ul-Mulk and Justice Gulzar Ahmed. The two will hear the constitutional petition regarding protection of lives and property of people residing in Balochistan. They would also hear cases regarding missing persons.

The third bench consists of Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Justice Mushir Alam. The judges will hear human rights activist Amina Massod Janjua's application regarding missing persons and also the Supreme Court Bar Association’s application for releasing funds to complete the Supreme Court’s cooperative housing society.

The fifth bench consists of Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan.

The sixth bench consists of Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Dost Muhammad Khan while the seventh bench consists of Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and Justice Muhammad Ather Saeed.

Suo moto notices

A suo-moto action regarding suicide bomb attack of September 22, 2013 on the church in Peshawar was taken.

Suo-moto action was also taken on the application filed by Additional Secretary PTI Saifullah Nyazee to recount votes in four constituencies after verifying thumb impressions.

Fourth bench includes Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry.