Petition against hike in sugar price dismissed

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday dismissed for being not maintainable a petition challenging increase in sugar price.

Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah issued the order, ruling that fixing sugar price was a policy matter of government and courts could not interfere into it. Advocate Obaidullah Kalyar had filed the petition, arguing that sugar mills owners had created artificial shortage of sugar in the markets due to which the price of sugar had increased from Rs45 to Rs78.  He alleged that sugar mills had piled up sugar stocks while there was no shortage of sugar in the country but the mills owners had created shortage of sugar to mint money. He alleged that capitalists, political personalities and government officials had connived in order to rob the public. He prayed to the court to order government authorities to take action against hoarders. After hearing arguments of the petitioner’s counsel, Chief Justice Shah observed that it was not the responsibility of the courts to fix prices of sugar in the country. The CJ dismissed the petition for not being maintainable.

dismissed: The Lahore High Court on Friday held that the petition as non-maintainable challenging nomination of Najam Sethi to member Board of Governors (BoG) of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and his subsequent election as chairman of the board. Representing the petitioner, Advocate Naheed Baig argued before the court that the election of Najam Sethi had been conducted in violation of the board’s Constitution and rules. 

She said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif being patron of the PCB violated rules by nominating Najam Sethi and Arif Ijaz to the BoG much earlier to the dissolution of the previous board.  The counsel argued that the respondent (Sethi) was elected as new chairman before the expiry of the term of his predecessor, Sheharyar Khan. She asked the court to declare the election of Najam Sethi void and immediately restrain him from performing his duties as chairman. The PCB counsel objected to the maintainability of the petition calling it a publicity stunt. He said the patron had the power to nominate any person to the BoG.