SC seeks record of all gas cases from high courts.

Byline: Nasir Iqbal

ISLAMABAD -- The SupAreme Court on Tuesday summoned from high courts all the pending cases relating to Gas Development InfrastrucAture Cess (GIDC) 2015.

'Let the registrars of all the high courts pass on [to the Supreme Court] the list of all the cases involving GIDC Act 2015 and also notify the respective counsel representing different petitioners about the pendency of the matter in the Supreme Court,' Justice Mushir Alam said while dictating an order after hour-long proceedings.

The order also required lawyers pleading the cases to join the proceedings before the apex court if they choose so. But they were given an option to appear in person before the SC at the principal seat or join through a video link.

Hints at commencing hearing on a daily basis from 29th

Likewise, the interveners or those who wished to join the proceedings at the apex court should file additional documents as well as the parties considering participating in the proceedings to furnish before the court a consolidated concise statement.

The court also hinted at commencing hearing on a daily basis once it meets on Oct 29 (Tuesday afternoon). The federal government was represented by Deputy Attorney General Sohail Mahmood.

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, another member of the bench, observed that it would be fair and equitable to hear all those who were going to be affected with the SC decision. 'We have been told about pending matters before the Lahore High Court as well as the Sindh High Court,' he remarked.

At the outset of the hearing when senior counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan representing several CNG station owners appeared before the SC Karachi registry, which was connected to the apex court in Islamabad through a video link, Justice Alam said: 'Welcome to the next generation of the court.'

Mr Khan reminded the court about Article 186A of the Constitution that empoAwers the SC to only transfer any case from one high court to another. At the same time, he expressed the hope that any decision that the SC rendered would deal with the future prospects only instead of opening closed cases since there were around 370 petitioners who already had cases by different courts in the matter.

The counsel was of the opinion that the federal government had levied a tax through GIDC Act 2015 without a legislative competence since this cess did not fall within Entries 43 to 53 of the Federal Legislative List (FLL) in the Fourth Schedule that dealt with the imposition...