IHC rejects sugar millers' intra-court plea in inquiry commission case

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday rejected intra-court appeals filed by association of sugar mills owners against report and the inquiry commission. While announcing verdict on the plea, IHC upheld the earlier decision of Chief Justice Athar Minallah and allowed authorities to continue their action against people responsible for sugar crisis. Two-member bench comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Lubna Saleem Pervaiz announced the reserved verdict. The court stated that constitution and report of commission, formed to identify those responsible for the sugar crisis, cannot be declared null and void merely on suspicion of technical issues. On the other hand, the Sindh High Court (SHC) has declared the sugar inquiry commission and its probe report as null and void. A SHC division bench comprising Justice KK Agha and Justice Omar Sial announced the reserved verdict on a petition filed by the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) against an inquiry commission formed by the government to probe into a sugar crisis that hit the country earlier this year. The SHC nullified report of sugar inquiry commission and also ordered National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to carry out an independent inquiry as per law. The court ordered authorities concerned an independent inquiry to be conducted into the shortage of sugar, and price hike. On May 30, the federal government had made public a report of the Sugar Inquiry Commission. The report was uploaded on the Press Information Department (PID) website.