Suo motu trumps petitions: SC refuses to entertain petitions

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has refused to entertain a petition jointly filed by two local parliamentarians against the metro bus project, saying the matter is already pending adjudication.

Delayed action came on Monday from the SC’s Registrar Office on a petition filed on May 11 by PML-Q Senator Mushahid Hussain and PTI MNA Asad Umar through Advocate Athar Minallah.

Through the petition, the court was requested to restrain the provincial and federal governments from proceeding further with the project till a verdict is given on the petition as they claim the project is in violation of the Master Plan of Islamabad and a number of environmental laws governing the capital.

The SC has termed the petition “not entertainable” in the presence of pending adjudication, Athar Minallah said. The court mentioned a pending suo motu case initiated on March 14 on an earlier application from the senator, Minallah added.

He said that on Tuesday, two separate applications were filed on behalf of the two parliamentarians.

Through application filed by the senator, the court has been asked to incorporate additional information to his original application and to set the case for early hearing, while Umer has requested the court to be made a party to the case.

The SC took notice of the issue on March 14, but no hearings have been held so far.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2014.