Two gas utility courts to be set up soon

They will deal with cases pertaining to gas theft and recovery.

LAHORE: Two gas utility courts are likely to be set up in the coming weeks to hear cases pertaining to gas theft and recovery of gas dues, The Express Tribune has learnt.

District and Sessions Judge Syed Hamid Hussain Shah wrote to the Lahore High Court last week requesting that such courts be set up as envisaged in the Gas Theft Control and Recovery Ordinance 2014.

Rule 3 of the ordinance says the High Court can establish gas utility courts in a district as it may deem necessary and appoint a judge for each of the courts from amongst the district and sessions judges in the district.

The letter, addressed to the Lahore High Court registrar, was written after Judge Hamid Hussain Shah received two references from civil judges complaining about the additional work of dealing with gas bill and theft disputes. The civil judges said that the lawyers representing the Sui Gas Company did not attend the hearings on the pretext that the aforementioned ordinance did not grant civil court judges jurisdiction to adjudicate or dispose of such matters.

Section 5-(5), subject to sub-section (6), states that no other court or authority shall exercise jurisdiction on matters in the jurisdiction of a gas utility court.

Section 7 of the ordinance states that all proceedings pending in any other court, including suits for recovery, shall stand transferred to, or be deemed to have been transferred to and heard and disposed of by, a gas utility court.

Judge Hamid Hussain Shah told The Express Tribune that he had written to the Lahore High Court on the matter. He said it was likely that two judges will be nominated to deal with such cases in the coming weeks. He said three civil courts had been dealing with these matters.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2014.