ISLAMABAD: The constitutional bench on Monday admitted for hearing a set of petitions seeking Supreme Court’s declaration that power supply on a least-cost basis to citizens was the federal government’s responsibility under Article 9.

The six-member bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, ordered the removal of objections raised by the registrar’s office to the petitions and issued notices to the attorney general.

Among these petitions, one was moved by the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) vice president Zaki Aijaz and another by Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) president Asad Manzoor Butt through Advocate Feisal Hussain Naqvi and Advocate Hasan Irfan Khan, respectively.

Advocate Naqvi argued that although power supply is a fundamental right, not even one out of 100 contracts has been put out to bid and the contracts have been repeated since 1994.

Petitions on agreements with IPPs and related contracts admitted for hearing

Justice Musarrat Hilali, a member of the constitutional bench, noted that the court could intervene in the matter as it pertained to public interest and issue instructions for the future.

The petition urged the court to order the government to share with it the copies of all power purchase and implementation agreements. The court was requested to declare that the 1994, 2002 and 2015 policies in this regard were null and void, since they permitted, and continued to permit, the disposal of state largesse other than on the basis of competitive bidding and without any rational basis.

The court was asked to declare that the government and its instrumentalities cannot profit from the provision of essential facilities, where such facilities were not available except from the government and order the government to commission a detailed and thorough forensic audit of all IPPs (Indep­endent Power Producers).

Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar recalled how a task force was constituted on Aug 5 for conducting negotiations with IPPs.

The court was asked to direct the government to implement the 2020 report in letter and spirit, inter alia, by recovering excess profits earned by IPPs.

Audio leaks commission

Separately, the constitutional bench granted further time to the government to apprise whether it intends to continue with the audio commission constituted last year in the wake of a series of audio leaks, by appointing new members.

When the case was taken up for hearing on Monday, Additional Attorney General Chaudhry Aamir Rehman requested the court to postpone proceedings, explaining that the cabinet could not decide the matter last week due to the protest in Islamabad.

The law officer assured the court the matter would be presented to the cabinet in its next meeting.

On May 20, 2023, the federal government had notified the constitution of a three-man commission under then Supreme Court judge, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, to probe the veracity of alleged audio leaks, some of which raised serious apprehensions about the independence of the judiciary.

The commission, comprising then Balochistan High Court chief justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, was formed under Section 3 of the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act, 2017. Justice Afghan has since been elevated to the SC.

On Aug 20, an SC bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, had regretted that the inquiry commission formed to probe the veracity of audio leaks conducted no hearing after its last proceedings on May 27, 2023.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2024