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LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has suspended a notification by the federal government transferring administrative control of five regulatory bodies to their respective line ministries.
At a hearing on the matter on Tuesday, LHC Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah observed that the prime minister should have sought approval from the Council of Common Interests (CCI) before issuing the notification.
The government had issued the notification on Dec 19, placing the control of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) under their respective ministries.
Know more: Five regulatory bodies placed under ministries concerned
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf secretary general Jahangir Tareen and a citizen, Ali Irfan, had filed identical petitions in this regard.
Advocate Sheraz Zaka, the lead counsel for the petitioners, argued that under the law it was mandatory for the government to seek an approval from the CCI before transferring the control of autonomous regulatory authorities to their respective ministries.
He said that in many judgements the Supreme Court had declared approval from the CCI a mandatory provision for this purpose.
Advocate Zaka pointed out that on the one hand the government was involved in the production and transmission of electricity, and on the other, it wanted to assume the role of a regulator.
Similarly, he said, placing the PTA and the FAB under the control of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom, the PPRA under Ministry of Finance and Ogra under Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, was a case involving conflict of interest. The lawyer requested the court to set aside the notification.
A deputy attorney general argued that the approval of CCI was not necessary as the cabinet had approved the measure.
In his remarks, Chief Justice Shah said that the rule of law was indispensable as the prime minister should have sought approval of the CCI before issuing the notification. He suspended the notification and sought appearance of the attorney general for Pakistan at the next hearing.
Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2017
