March 18, 2003	Tuesday	Muharram 14, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, March 17: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) managing director, summoning him on March 31 to explain why the court’s decision for reinstating a large number of employees was not implemented.

The notice was issued to the MD and human resources manager of the SSGC to explain why the SC verdict was not being implemented.

The bench, presided over by Chief Justice Shaikh Riaz, issued the notice after hearing the petitioners’ counsel, Wasim Sajjad, and the company’s counsel, Chaudhry Mohammad Jameel, on a contempt of court petition moved by the employees.

The court also issued notice to the attorney-general to be present on the next hearing.

Under the contempt of court law, the attorney-general acts as the prosecutor if the court decides to issue notice to any citizen.

On the last hearing, the court had directed the company to pay Rs10,000 to eight lawyers representing the employees, for the failure of the SSGC counsel to appear in the court, where hundreds of cases seeking their reinstatement were fixed for hearing.

The court expressed its displeasure over the tactics being employed by the company’s lawyer to delay the hearing.

The case would affect hundreds of trainees inducted into the company in 1994-95, who were sacked in 1998.

The affected trainees first tried to get relief from the court under its writ jurisdiction but failed.

Later, they approached the Federal Service Tribunal, which ordered reinstatement of many but declined the relief to others.

Wasim Sajjad said the FST had ordered reinstatement of many employees several months back but the decision was not implemented by the company. The counsel said that the order of FST was not suspended by any court.

The employees are praying the apex court to grant them relief it had granted to their colleagues, Saleem Mustafa and Narian Das.