MUZAFFARABAD: A district court here on Wednesday dismissed the plea of a brother of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker seeking hold over a petrol pump, owned by a Board of Trustees of non-gazetted employees, even after the expiry of a three-year contract.

Located along a main thoroughfare here, the pump is the property of ‘Welfare Fund and Group Insurance Trust of Non-Gazetted Employees,’ whose all key decisions are taken by the Board of Trustees, headed by additional chief secretary-general with additional secretaries for finance, law and services, additional accountant general and two representatives of non-gazetted employees its members.

In July 2011, the pump was rented out to Mr Mehr Ali Gillani, younger brother of Iftikhar Ali Gillani, PML-N lawmaker from Muzaffarabad city, for three years after he made the highest offer of Rs263,750 per month in an open bidding.

According to an agreement signed by the parties on July 20, 2011, the contractor was required to deposit a refundable surety of Rs1 million and one year’s rent in advance, which he had followed.

The petitioner claims ownership of petrol pump even after contract expired

The agreement further read that the contractor shall pay the rent on the first day of each month and in default of payment for two consecutive months, the board will enjoy the authority to abrogate the contract and forfeit the surety.

The three-year contract period was renewable, but the agreement authorised the board to set it aside anytime on a two-month notice.

However, according to a board official, after paying the rent for first nine months, the contractor stopped making payment “under one pretext or the other.”

“Only after 3-4 months, the contractor had started complaining that one of the storage tanks had leakage problem and therefore the rent should be halved,” director Abdul Rehman Qureshi told Dawn.

However, the board rejected the plea, making it clear that no relief could begiven since the contract was offered on “as-is-where-is-basis”, he added.

On July 17, Mr Mehr Gillani filed a lawsuit before the additional district and sessions judge, wherein he alleged that the board had failed to implement the agreement due to which he had suffered pecuniary loss and stress.

Apart from claiming return of Rs4.265 million from the respondents he had also claimed damages to the tune of Rs50 million for “mental torture” inflicted on him by the respondents.

However his request to restrain the respondents from interfering in the petrol pump, allotting it to someone else or abrogating the agreement, was not immediately accepted by the court.

In the meantime, on July 23 the board made an attempt to reclaim the possession of pump with the help of police and two magistrates, but in vain.

Sharif Awan, president Secretariat Employees’ Association and one of the trustees, alleged that MLA Gillani arrived on the scene and forced the magistrates and police to make a retreat.

After hearing the arguments of both parties on July 26 and August 5, the judge announced on Wednesday that the plea for a stay order was not maintainable and hence dismissed.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2014