ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court on Thursday suspended the Sindh High Court order that had directed the federal government to pay nearly Rs14 billion in subsidy to a private company during the petroleum crisis and had also restrained the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from conducting an inquiry into the matter.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi admitted for regular hearing the federal government’s appeal, suspended the High Court’s judgment, and issued notices to the parties involved. The bench also adjourned further proceedings for date-in-office (indefinitely).
It is pertinent to mention that during the petroleum crisis, the federal government had decided to provide subsidies to petroleum companies based on price differences. During that period, the private company claimed nearly Rs14 billion in subsidy payments from the government.
The government subsequently directed the FIA to investigate actual petroleum sales. However, the company approached the Sindh High Court, which ordered the federal government to pay the subsidy amount to the company within one week and also restrained the FIA from taking any action in the matter. The federal government then filed an appeal against the Sindh High Court’s ruling before the Constitutional Court.
