ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court ordered the chief justice of the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday to constitute a special bench comprising two judges to either confirm or vacate stay orders pending with it for long.

“The SHC is granting stay after stay and the cases are pending for years,” regretted Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar while hearing a suo motu case on increase in drug prices. The suo motu notice on the matter was originally taken by former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

In one of the hearings on April 29, 2014, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) had blamed the manufacturers and importers of medicines of dragging the authority into courts on drug pricing which, it said, had no jurisdiction to decide such matters under the Drugs Act 1976.

Even many statutes have been suspended due to stay orders, regrets CJP Nisar

Then in a report submitted by Deputy Attorney General Sajid Ilyas Bhatti on behalf of Drap, the authority had requested the apex court to pass a final judgement by holding that only the Islamabad High Court and not any other civil or high court had the authority to decide cases relating to prices of medicines.

On Wednesday when the case was taken up, Chief Justice Nisar observed that prominent lawyers appeared in the high court and obtained stay orders and as a result even many statutes had been suspended. Referring to the case on increase in drug prices, the court regretted that the cases were pending at the high court for long when the matter required revamping of the drug law.

“We have to work on war footing,” the court said, adding that it was their duty to ensure provision of drugs to people at low prices.

The court said that it would like to summon all the files from the courts concerned and directed Drap to provide a list of pending cases before the SHC. It observed that there were so many matters in the high court which had caused hindrance in the functioning of the authority.

“I need results in two weeks,” the chief justice said, adding that those (officials) who did not want to work should go home on pension.

The system of dispensing justice should be allowed to function unhindered and the people should get justice, he said.

The court observed that the Supreme Court had the authority to examine merits of any orders passed by the high court.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2018