SHC declares sugar inquiry commission, probe report as null and void

KARACHI (92 News) - The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday 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. According to the report, the sugar mill owners had inflicted losses on sugarcane growers consistently. The commission had also found irregularities in advance payments to farmers in the form of cash or commodity, which is tantamount to unregulated banking, whereas, the mill owners hurt farmers by indulging in informal banking and earned a profit of up to 35 per cent. Owners of over 20 sugar mills in Sindh had filed a petition against the inquiry commission’s report. The petition stated that the committee members cannot be relied upon and their report favours the federal government.