ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday vacated the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) stay order barring the federal government from completing investigations against a number of sugar mills.

Taking up a federal government appeal against the June 23 SHC verdict suspending the operation of the sugar inquiry commission, a three-judge SC bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed asked the SHC as well as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to decide within three weeks the cases pending before them pertaining to the sugar inquiry commission.

The bench, however, decided that instead of hearing the government’s appeal on merits by the Supreme Court, the high courts should be allowed to adjudicate on the merits of the case.

Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan gave a voluntary undertaking that no unnecessary coercive action would be taken against any sugar mill. On the basis of this statement, the apex court passed the order accordingly and recalled the stay order granted by the SHC. The high courts have been asked to decide the cases within three weeks during which no unnecessary coercive action would be taken against the sugar mills and government officials have also been restricted from making statements on the issue.

Asks high courts to decide in three weeks cases pertaining to sugar inquiry commission

During the hearing, AG Khan argued that the SHC order was not in accordance with the law, adding that the matter would not be subjected to a media trial.

A number of sugar mills, including Mirpukhas 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 Army Welfare Sugar Mills Limited, had approached the SHC which had suspended the operation of the sugar commission against these respondents.

The commission on May 21 released its report identifying potential violations of different laws by different manufactures of sugar and others acting in collusion or in concert with the manufacturers thereby being liable to possible legal action(s) or proceedings as warranted under different statutes.

On June 10, the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association had moved the Islamabad High Court against the constitution of the inquiry commission as well as its report.

The federal government’s appeal had argued that the petitioners after having been frustrated in securing the same relief on the same grounds from the IHC had opted to approach the SHC, claiming relief virtually on the same grounds. This practice was contrary to the law and clearly established that the petitioners had approached the SHC with unclean hands and were not entitled to any equitable relief, it said.

The SHC, the appeal contended, had ignored the earlier order passed on the same subject by the IHC and also failed to appreciate that appropriate investigation and proceedings by the competent authority under respective statutes could not be preempted or frustrated by exercise of jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution.

On the other hand, senior counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan, appearing on behalf of the sugar mills, had contended 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 in several high courts. Each person approached the high court of his province in such cases, he contended, adding that none of the petitioners before the IHC had gone to the SHC. As for the association, the counsel argued, it had not approached the IHC in a representative capacity but as a person, which had a personal grievance.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2020