ISLAMABAD, Feb 27: Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued notice to Ali Arshad Hakeem chairman federal board of revenue (FBR) and admitted for regular hearing a petition filed against his appointment.

The petition claims that Mr Hakeem lacks the required qualifications and that proper procedures were not followed in his appointment.

While FBR is of the view that prime minister has discretionary powers to appoint chairman FBR and no rules were violated.

IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui on the petition of Mohammad Ashfaq Ahmed member inland revenue service (IRS) of the FBR also issued notice to the secretary establishment and sought reply till March 7.

The federal government on July, 2012, appointed Mr Hakeem as chairman FBR, earlier Mr Hakeem was working as chairman National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).

According to the petition, Mr Hakeem was not qualified for the position of chairman FBR and the establishment division did not adopt proper procedures for his appointment.

The petition alleged that the appointment of incumbent chairman FBR was not in accordance with the intent and purport of the section 3 of the Federal Bureau of Revenue Act, 2007, which explains necessary requirements for the said post for efficient working.

It claimed that Mr Hakeem lacks experience, educational qualifications — requisite for the due performance of the functions of the said office.

The petition said that the establishment division did not adhere to the mandatory advertisement procedure and shortened the procedure on extraneous consideration.

The petition further added that only in exceptional circumstances procedures can be overlooked but in this particular case no reason was given to justify the direct appointment.

The petition revealed that the summary for the appointment of chairman FBR, sent to the prime minister for approval, contained only a single name of Mr Hakeem, whereas normally three names were suggested with comparative qualifications.

The summary does not mention the skills, expertise, qualifications, needed to head the revenue function of the state, the petition added.

Barrister Zafarullah Khan, counsel for the petitioner adopted before the court that the appointment of Mr Hakeem was ‘a murder of merit,’ whimsical, arbitrary and a prelude to the destruction of the whole structure of FBR.

The chairman, he alleged, was a former civil servant, who had joined the Customs Group in 1987 but started his private business after leaving the service, a few years later.

Had the respondent continued his service, he would have been still in Grade 19, the counsel said.

According to him, there were about half a dozen officers of IRS and Pakistan Customs Service already in BS-22 and were heading various other ministries/divisions/institutions and had better expertise.

Conversely, it was also interesting to note that these FBR officers in BS-22 were not considered to head their own department, he added.

According to the counsel, the matter regarding the appointment of Mr Hakeem as chairman FBR has had a direct and serious bearing on the social-economic rights of the public at large and these rights had been duly enshrined and guaranteed by the constitution of Pakistan.

Barrister Khan said that the revenue target of the FBR was Rs2,380 billion for the year 2012-13, adding that any irregularity committed in any aspect in the administration of FBR, affected the entire organisation negatively.

He requested the court to declare illegal the appointment of Mr Hakeem as chairman FBR and to direct the federal government to make a new appointment on the said post on merit.

The petition sought a restraining order to stop Mr Hakeem from working as FBR chief.

The petitioner also requested the court to direct him (Mr Hakeem) to return all benefits and emoluments he obtained during the course of the allegedly illegal appointment.

The petitioner had earlier challenged the appointment of Mr Hakeem as chairman FBR in the Supreme Court but the apex court had directed him to approach IHC to redress his grievances.

On the other hand, Asrar Rauf, a spokesman for the FBR said that the appointment of Mr Hakeem as chairman FBR had been made in accordance with the law.

According to him, there was not a single precedence in which the vacancy for the chairman FBR slot had ever been advertised.

He said that the prime minister under the discretionary power approves the appointment of any relevant and qualified person for the position of chairman FBR and the president also endorsed the said appointment.

He claimed that earlier the Supreme Court did not consider the request of the petitioner, where he was seeking the same relief.