ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved its judgment on an appeal of the Sugar Mills Association against the formation of the sugar inquiry commission.
As per details, a day after the Sindh High High overturned the Sugar Inquiry Commission (SIC) as unlawful, IHC turned down the intra-court appeal filed by sugar mill owners against the formation of the commission.
The IHC announced its verdict in the case today which it had reserved on July 24. Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb and Justice Lubna Saleem Pervez, in the verdict, rejected the appeal by the owners, upholding the earlier decision of the single bench.
The report released in July had laid bare startling revelations about how the prices of sugar are fixed, how exports of the commodity are faked to avail rebates on sales taxes, and how billions of rupees are overcharged by sugar mills owners.
The petitioners had called for the sugar inquiry report released on May 21 to be declared void and the actions ordered by the PM Imran in this regard suspended.
The petition, filed by Advocate Salman Akram Raja, stated: “The range of the Impugned report clearly surpass the constitutional limitations of a Federal Commission of Inquiry formed under the 2017 Act, as it trespasses into issues within the exclusive legislative and executive domains of the Provinces”.
The entire inquiry has been carried out in a completely illegal, unlawful, opaque, biased and discriminatory manner, read the petition.
The applicants further said it has been conducted in complete contravention to the requirements of the 2017 Act and the relevant terms of reference.
The petition was filed after the government’s announcement that it is forwarding cases to the National Accountability Bureau, FIA and other federal agencies to take disciplinary actions against those involved in the scandal.
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