PESHAWAR, April 12: A two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court  on Thursday reserved its judgments on seven writ petitions challenging the powers of the NWFP Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Deputy Advocate-General Tariq Jawed contended that the petitioners could  not question the legality of the decisions taken by the PAC. He claimed that the constitution had given legal cover to proceedings in the parliament and provincial assemblies and the report of the PAC was adopted unanimously by the assembly, therefore, no legal proceedings could be conducted against it.

The bench, comprising Justice Khalida Rachied and Justice Abdur Rauf Lughmani, would also take up for hearing more than two dozen identical writ petitions on the same question on May 7 and judgments in all the cases would be announced after the hearing of those pleas.

The petitioners, belonging government departments, inc-luding irrigation and communication and works, were issued notices for recovery in the light of decisions taken by the erstwhile PAC after discussing the auditor-general’s reports for 1994-95.

The petitioners contended that the PAC had no legal authority to penalise a civil servant.