Conflicting judgments relevant in jurisdictions of respective high courts

Islamabad : Two diametrically opposed judgments, separately handed by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and Sindh High Court (SHC) on the legality of the Sugar Inquiry Commission, may delay further proceedings against sugar barons with the price of the commodity skyrocketing.

“It is a time-tested principle that whenever there are conflicting verdicts delivered by high courts on the same matter, the contentious matter is settled once and for all by the Supreme Court,” prominent lawyer Kashif Malik told The News when contacted.

Following the same standard, he said, the SHC and IHC rulings, which are in clash with each other, will be taken to the apex court, obviously by the government, saying that the two clashing judgments have been given. The SHC voided not only the establishment of the sugar commission but also knocked down its report while the IHC declared the findings legal.

Kashif Malik said that unless overturned, the verdicts will be applicable in the respective areas of jurisdiction of the two high courts.

Last month, the Supreme Court vacated the stay order against the investigations sought by the federal government by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) and Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE). The apex court had directed the two high courts to decide the petitions within three weeks.

On June 7, the federal government directed all these departments to vigorously proceed against the sugar tycoons on the basis of the sugar report given to it by the commission in May. On Prime Minister Imran Khan’s instruction, a special FIA team was constituted to accelerate the action.

Little is known as to how far these organizations have gone ahead with their assignments so far with the sugar prices having touched a new high. However, what is known is, is that the NAB has not so far issued even notices to sugar millers otherwise it, as per its practice, would have released them publicly and sought their wide publicity.

Another important development is that the NAB has launched an investigation against the Punjab ACE Director General Gohar Nafees, who was said to be “extraordinary proactive” to perform the job assigned to him by the federal government, in connection with the allegation of assets beyond means.

The SHC declared the notification, creating the sugar commission, its report and “all subsequent and consequent actions and orders of the federal government including but not limited to the actions taken and decisions made in pursuance thereof, whether taken directly or indirectly through departments, offices, agencies, authorities, officers, officials, employees, agents and assignees in any manner whatsoever to be without lawful authority and of no legal effect with regard to the petitioners, and quash the impugned report and all such actions and orders.”

As per the seven-point action plan devised by the federal government, it has sent a reference to NAB to investigate a total of over Rs29 billion subsidy allocated and disbursed to the sugar industry by the provincial and federal governments for the last five years. The FBR was asked to look into the income and sales tax related frauds, evasions, and Benami transactions and submit the report within 90 days. The anti-competitive collusion in the sugar industry and issues related to cartelization were to be investigated by CCP, which was asked to submit its report within 90 days from the date of registration of inquiry. The SBP was directed to probe within 90 days issues relating to export proceeds, loans defaults/write-offs and sale of pledged stock. The FIA and SECP were ordered to investigate within 90 days corporate frauds of sugar mills in the light of findings of the Commission report.

The ACE was directed to take action against the sugar millers for their involvement in various offences under the provincial laws such as payment to cane growers below the support price and illegal deductions on account of weight of cane and submit their reports within 90 days.