PHC declares establishment of investment authority illegal

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Saturday declared Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minerals Sector Governance Act 2016 and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mineral Titles (Large and Small Scale Mining) Rules, 2017 Rules (“the 2017 Rules”) made thereunder are without lawful authority and hence of no legal effect.

A division bench comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Abdul Shakoor announced the reserved verdict in a writ petition filed by KP Mine Owners Association.

The bench also declared the establishment of KP Investment Facilitation Authority as illegal.

However, the high court gave protection to the government law and acts up to 60 days and asked the government for enactment of the new act and rules under the law. Afnan Karim Kundi appeared for the petitioners in the case.

The court observed the KP government should first approve the law from the provincial cabinet.

During the course of hearing, the lawyer submitted the Minerals Sector Act 2016 was not approved from the provincial cabinet and the laws and rules framed under it were unlawful.

The judgment stated that as far as the next contention of the additional advocate general that this constitutional disability of the Bill so introduced, culminating in the impugned Act of 2016 was in fact a procedural irregularity, and thus beyond the mandate of a constitutional court as provided under Article 69 read with 67 of the Constitution.

This court is not in consonance with the submission of the additional advocate general as the act lacked the most fundamental legal precedent of prior approval of the provincial cabinet.

The judgment said the this court has by now declared the Act of 2016 to be ultra vires for the same to lack the prior approval of the provincial cabinet, it would not be legally appropriate to further dilate or pass

any finding on the other grounds of the challenge made by the petitioner in the present petition.

Accordingly for the reasons stated herein above, this Court holds and declare that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minerals Sector Governance Act, 2016 and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mineral Titles (Large and Small Scale Mining) Rules, 2017 Rules (“the 2017 Rules”) made thereunder are without lawful authority and hence of no legal effect.