LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has restrained public office holders, ministers and bureaucrats from misusing or converting to their personal use the public fund and even taking a cup of tea with public money.

Justice Aminuddin Khan passed the interim order on a petition filed by the Lawyers Foundation for Justice pleading that the public fund and public property being trust in the hands of public functionaries cannot be misused or used for personal gain.

Advocate A.K Dogar represented the foundation and stated that the public funds/property must be dealt with by the public functionaries on behalf of and for the benefit of the people.

He pointed out that father of the nation Quaid-i-Azam had instructed his military secretary to issue an office order that no member of the cabinet coming to attend meeting shall be offered tea or coffee because public exchequer was a trust in their hands and they could not commit any breach of that trust.

The counsel asked the court to restrain the public functionaries, ministers and bureaucrats from misusing and converting to their own use public fund/property. He further pleaded that the respondents be also restrained from taking a cup of tea from the national kitty.

Deputy Attorney General Rana Abdul Shakoor sought time to file a reply on behalf of the federal government, which was allowed by the court.

Justice Khan adjourned further hearing till May 23 and temporarily restrained the respondents from misusing the public funds or property. “The prayer that they be restrained from taking even a cup of tea from the public exchequer is granted till next date of hearing,” the order concluded.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2019