Discretionary funds case: Top court issues notices to ex-PM Ashraf, others

Takes up govt’s review petition against SC’s Dec 15, 2013 judgment

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to former premier Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and other politicians while hearing the government’s review petition against the court’s judgment on the allotment and use of discretionary funds.

The top court, in its December 5, 2013 judgment, barred the prime minister from exercising his discretionary powers in the matter of supplementary and excess grants. The judgment had also banned the transfer of funds from an account approved by parliament to another as a technical supplementary grant and curtailed the government’s discretionary powers, which are often used in May and June, before the new budget is announced.

The government, in its review plea, challenged a clause of judgment which stated that: “Rule 197 of the Rules of the Procedure, 2007, indicates that in the case of supplementary grants, the assent of the National Assembly is to be obtained before these funds are made available.” It contended that implementing the clause in question would cause serious problems for the government.

During proceedings, Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt told the three-judge bench, headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nasir that the government had no objections against the SC ruling on the use of fund by a former prime minister in violation of PPRA rules. He added that the government only wanted the court to interpret articles 83, 83 and 164 of the Constitution.

The bench, meanwhile, observed that it would issue notices to everyone involved in the matter. Other politicians issued notices include Anwar Ali Cheema, Mola Bakhsh Chandio, Liaquat Ali Shabab and Syed Muhammad Shah.

It should be pointed out that former chief justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, while hearing the same petition on May 14, allowed the federal government to release funds without obtaining parliament’s approval for development projects being carried out in ‘national or public interest’.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2014.