ISLAMABAD: The lawyer who filed the petition against the allotment of more than one plot to top bureaucrats and the judges of the Supreme Court has sought reward under Whistleblower Protection and Vigilance Commission Act.

Under the act the competent authority can award 20pc of plundered amount to the whistleblower after recovery.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had declared on Aug 27 that the policy of allotment of additional plots was illegal.

IHC Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, however, did not cancel the allotment of 602 plots to 44 serving and retired judges of the superior courts and federal secretaries.

However, the court referred this matter to the federal cabinet for taking decision on cancellation of additional plots already allotted to judges and the bureaucrats.

In its order on Aug 27, court had declared allotment of additional plots to judges, bureaucrats illegal

The lawyer Riaz Hanif Rahi filed an intra court appeal (ICA) against the said order.

IHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamer Farooq took up the appeal.

The lawyer Rahi argued that single member bench has partially allowed the petition and instead of setting aside the additional plots and remanding this case to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the judge simply referred this to the cabinet.

Rahi adopted before the court 602 additional plots worth Rs45 billion were allotted to the judges and the top bureaucracy which should have been forfeited.

He requested the court to issue direction to the government for paying the petitioner 20pc of the cost of these plots.

The bench admitted the intra court appeal for hearing and issued notices to the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA) and other respondents.

A nongovernmental organisation Jurist Foundation has challenged the government’s decisions of 2006 and 2008 for allotment of additional plots to the bureaucracy and the superior judiciary respectively in the government housing schemes.

According to the petition, a summary for allotment of plots to the bureaucrats was approved by the then prime minister on June 27, 2006 which is against the constitutional provisions.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2021