SC rejects move to get stay on sugar panel report lifted.

Byline: Nasir Iqbal

ISLAMABAD -- The Supreme Court on Thursday declined the federal government's request to suspend the June 23 Sindh High Court (SHC) staying of the operation of the sugar inquiry commission report.

A two-judge Supreme Court bench consisting of Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan had taken up the appeal moved through Additional Attorney General Tariq Mehmood Khokhar.

A number of sugar mills namely Mirpurkhas Sugar Mills Limited, Habib Sugar Mills Limited, Mehran Sugar Mills Limited, Shahmurad Sugar Mills Limited, Faran Sugar Mills Limited, Al-Abbas Sugar Mills Limited, Sindh Abadgar's Sugar Mills Limited, Al Noor Sugar Mills Limited, Khairpur Sugar Mills Limited, Digri Sugar Mills Limited, Ranipur Sugar Mills Limited, SGM Sugar Mills Limited, Tharparkar Sugar Mills Limited, Sanghar Sugar Mills Limited, Dewan Sugar Mills Limited, Sakrand Sugar Mills Limited, Matiari Sugar Mills Limited, Bandhi Sugar Mills Limited and the Army Welfare Sugar Mills Limited had approached the SHC, which suspended the operation of the sugar commission report against these respondents.

During the hearing Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan contended that normally an appeal to the Supreme Court does not originate from a stay order by the high court but this rule does not apply here as the SHC acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner by passing an order different from that of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), which had earlier validated the commission's report.

Top govt lawyer says SHC acted arbitrarily by passing an order different from that of IHC

The AG highlighted that there was a regulatory capture of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) by powerful commercial interests. Therefore, the commission of inquiry had become necessary as none of the government departments and agencies were doing their job.

He contended that the commission's report was merely in the nature of information and if anyone's reputation had been affected by the report they had a remedy and they could come to court in its constitutional jurisdiction.

Senior counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan appearing for the sugar mills submitted that there was nothing unusual or exceptional in the order passed by the SHC, adding that it was quite common for a federal statute or federal executive action to be challenged before several high courts.

Each person approaches the...