KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Friday issued notices to the secretary of ministry of energy, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and others on a petition of an oil marketing company against alleged harassment of the FIA.

The two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro also restrained the respondents from taking any coercive action against the petitioner firm during the investigations till June 30.

However, the bench ruled that such restraining order was subject to the petitioner’s cooperation in the investigation of FIA and the proceedings initiated by Ogra as well as its compliance with the undertaking executed by the petitioner before the FIA regarding maintaining supply chain of petroleum products in the country.

Hascol Petroleum Limited through its lawyers moved the SHC and submitted that Ogra had issued it a show-cause notice on June 3 for hoarding and shortage of petroleum products and it was accordingly replied, but in the meantime the FIA took cognizance of the matter and issued a notice to the petitioner.

The counsel for the petitioner Arshad Tayebaly and others further contended that the representatives of the petitioner turned up before the FIA on June 11, and gave an undertaking to continue managing its supply chain to ensure balance of maintaining legal minimum critical stocks and keep feeding its retail network on daily basis throughout the month besides maintaining 21-day stocks.

Impleading the ministry, Ogra, FIA and Jackson police station as respondents in the petition, the lawyers further argued that despite such undertaking, FIA issued a fresh notice to the petitioner and threatened to take ex-parte action and maintained that the ministry of energy got a FIR registered against the management of the petitioner at the Jackson police station on the allegations of hoarding and black marketing of petroleum products.

The bench in its order said that the case of the petitioner was that the FIA was acting with mala fide intentions and harassing its management although they were cooperating in the proceedings and investigations while the FIA had no jurisdiction as per FIA Act to investigate the OMCs.

On June 11, Ogra had held six major OMCs, including the petitioner, responsible for petroleum shortage in the country and imposed fines on them.

Investigations against ex-minister completed

The National Accountability Bureau on Friday informed another division bench of the SHC that an investigation against former Sindh minister for local bodies Jam Khan Shoro into allegations of illegal allotment of land and assets beyond means had been completed.

The NAB prosecutor further said that matter to file a reference against the former provincial minister and others had been sent to the NAB headquarters in Islamabad for approval.

The bench extended the interim pre-arrest bail of the former minister till Sept 17 and directed NAB to file progress report at the next hearing.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2020