SHC suspends notification of gas rates hike for textile makers

KARACHI: Sindh High Court has suspended the Oil And Gas Regulatory Authority’s notification on sale price of gas for the textile manufacturers subject to depositing of differential amount before the Nazir of the court.

The interim order came on petition of textile manufacturers utilizing natural gas as industrial consumer supplied by the Sui Southern Gas Company. Plaintiffs counsel Syed Mohsin Ali impugned the OGRA notification issued on November 8, 2023 and submitted that same was issued in contravention of section 8 of the OGRA Ordinance read with Rule 18 of the national gas tariff rules 2002 whereby sale price has been exorbitantly increased for the textile manufactures.

The counsel submitted that SSGC was issuing gas bills on basis of impugned notification. He said that action taken by the caretaker government in respect of fixation of exorbitant sale price was also in violation of powers under section 230 of Election Act 2017. He sought interim order with respect to the impugned notification to the extent of plaintiffs and further for suspension of any increased sale price as reflected in gas bills issued to them.

SHC’s single bench headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar issued notices to deputy attorney general, OGRA and SSGC and called their comments on January 11, 2024. The court in meantime suspended the impugned notification of OGRA with respect of plaintiffs of the case subject to depositing of differential amount before the Nazir of the court. The court made clear that interim order shall be beneficial for those plaintiffs who deposit said differential amount with the Nazir of the court within seven days. The court observed that in case of failure of payment of on two consecutive months the interim order shall be deemed as recalled in respect of plaintiffs that fails with further rider that all payment of differential amount deposited with Nazir would be subject to outcome of injunction applications.

The court observed that apart from differential amount at the prescribed rate the plaintiffs shall pay the monthly bills regularly and SSGC shall issue separate bill every month or specify the amounts in separate columns of bill by bifurcating differential amount to be deposited with the Nazir of the court and to the SSGC. The court directed the SSGC to issue monthly gas bills to plaintiffs at the rate prevailing before issuance of impugned notifications in such terms.