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KARACHI, Sept 8: The Sindh High Court restrained a banking court from confirming any bid for Sindh Sugar Corporation in execution of a decree in a recovery suit against it till Sept 15, the next date of hearing of an application moved by the provincial government.
The corporation was ordered to be sold by public auction in execution of a decree in favour of the National Bank of Pakistan awarded by banking court No 1 of Karachi.
The sale was advertised and the highest bid received was Rs 36.5 million. The bid is pending confirmation.
The provincial government, which owns the corporation, moved a winding up petition under the Companies Ordinance and sought a direction against the confirmation of the bid by a judicial miscellaneous application for an interim order.
AAG M Ahmed Pirzada argued before Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, SHC company judge, that the prevailing market price of the corporation and its assets were much higher than the highest bid.
The privatization commission rejected a higher bid earlier as the corporation’s worth was estimated at Rs 800 million.
The AAG maintained that the corporation’s sale at the bid price of Rs 30.5 million would adversely affect the interests not only of the provincial government but also of a number of other creditors besides the plaintiff bank.
The claims of other creditors would remain unsatisfied if the highest bid received by the banking court was confirmed.
Justice Hussain issued a notice to the plaintiff bank for Sept 15 and directed the banking court not to confirm the bid in the meantime.
NOTICE TO AG: A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Yasmeen Abbasy, issued notices to the attorney-general and the advocate-general on maintainability of a petition moved by an employee of the Pakistan Steel dismissed by the competent authority designated by the prime minister under the Removal from Service (Special Powers) Ordinance, 2000.
The petitioner challenged his dismissal before the Federal Service Tribunal but received a letter from the tribunal’s assistant registrar that the appeal has abated in view of a recent Supreme Court judgment declaring that public corporation employees were not eligible to move the FST under Section 2-A of the FST Act, 1973.
The ex-employee moved the high court against the FST official’s letter, and his counsel, Chaudhry Rasheed Ahmed, argued that the Supreme Court order related only to appeals under Section 2-A of the FST Act by employees deemed to be civil servants and did not cover action taken by or under the authority of the prime minister in respect of public sector corporation employees.
No final order has been passed by the FST itself, which could enable the appellant to approach the Supreme Court in appeal and petitioner could only move the high court for a direction to the FST to hear his appeal.
The SHC bench observed that the point raised by the petition appeared to be important and notices should be issued the principal federal and provincial government law officers to assist the court on September 21.
All identical petitions would be heard on that date and Advocates Kazim Hasan and Akhtar Hussain would assist the court as amici curiae.
