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| December 6, 2005 | Tuesday | Ziqa’ad 3, 1426 |
Anti-OCAC petitioner told to file plea afresh
ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: The Supreme Court on Monday asked a petitioner to file an amended petition, challenging composition of a nine-member Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) that determines oil pricing in the country. Led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, a three-member bench while hearing a petition of Maulvi Iqbal Haider, chairman of the Awami Himayat Tehrik Pakistan, dismissed his petition as withdrawn with a direction to file afresh by properly challenging the composition of OCAC and appointment of its secretary who was not a public functionary.
Meanwhile, PPP Senator Rukhsana Zuberi told the bench that she also had filed a similar petition questioning delegation of power to the OCAC secretary and oil pricing mechanism contending that the formula was in derogation of fundamental rights of the people. The petition is likely to be taken up by the court at the next date of hearing.
Senator Zuberi, who is also a member of the Senate’s subcommittee on oil price mechanism, has also sought a direction against the federal government to undertake functions of pricing in consultation with industry, public representatives and consumers, especially when no fixed pricing formula had been elaborately enunciated by the government.
She also requested the Supreme Court to order forfeiture of overcharging by different oil companies to the tune of Rs160 billion.
The federal government, petroleum ministry secretary, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), OCAC, Attock Petroleum, Caltex Oil (Pakistan) Ltd, Pakistan State Oil, Shell Pakistan Ltd, Total Parco Pakistan Ltd, National Refinery Ltd, Pak Arab Refinery Ltd and BOSICOR Pakistan Ltd, are respondents in the case.
During 2003-04, consumption of petroleum products, especially diesel and petrol was about 14.3 million tonnes, the demand of which is expected to increase to 17 million tons per year by the year 2010.
Except for LPG (liquified petroleum gas), prices of other products are regulated by OCAC and its secretary has been authorized to exercise such power on behalf of the federal government from July 1, 2001 by an amendment in the Petroleum Products (Petroleum Development Levy) Ordinance 1961.
This unauthorized and unconstitutional authorization, she pleaded, empowered OCAC to review, fix and announce prices of petroleum products on fortnightly basis. From July 2001 to November 30, 2005, OCAC has adjusted petroleum prices by 107 times.
It is a settled law under Article 90 of the Constitution, she said, that executive authority always vested with the president or a person subordinate to him. The OCAC’s secretary is neither a public functionary nor a subordinate to the president and therefore no power could at all be delegated to him, she said, adding that legislature or executive authority could not even be delegated unless and until a complete policy was enunciated for proper exercise.
She deplored the fact that no benefit had been passed on to consumers, despite reduction of oil prices to 25 per cent from September 16, 2005 to November 30, 2005.
The petitioner contended that fundamental rights of the public were being infringed by such exercise of power impacting tremendously on economic life of the people.
All companies sitting as members of the decision-making body were beneficiaries of any increase in the price of petroleum products.
Interestingly, commission of these marketing companies which was less than one per cent by volume in 1993, raised to 2.2 per cent during 1995-2002 which now has been increased to 3.5 per cent, ever since the OCAC was created with efforts made to scale it up to five per cent by the end of the year, she said.
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