IHC rejects petition against increased petroleum prices
IHC rejects petition against increased petroleum prices
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declared the case inadmissible and said that pricing of petroleum products is the prerogative of the government.
According to details, the court of Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court Athar Minallah dismissed the petition against the increase in prices of petroleum products as inadmissible.
During the hearing, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mian Aslam along with his lawyer Rao Abdul Rahim appeared before the court and argued that the prices were increased before the end of June without Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRAs) summary as the government cannot legally raise prices without OGRA s recommendation.
He said the government s hike in petroleum prices five days before the end of month was due to malice. Even today, there is nothing on the OGRA website regarding pricing, he argued.
The Chief Justice remarked that we rejected the petition of the oil companies, the government had to take action.
The lawyer argued that the government was raising taxes as they wanted and instead of accepting the decision of the Supreme Court, the government has violated it. Petrol prices were raised through a press release. In the current situation of Coronavirus, the people should be given relief but the government has put burden on them.
Lawyer Abdul Rahim requested that as the OGRA has not issued any notification, the government s order to increase the price should be suspended. According to OGRA s June notification, the government should be directed to fix the price of the petrol.
After hearing the arguments, the court reserved its decision on the admissibility of the petition against the increase in petrol prices.
Later, in its judgment, the court dismissed the petition as inadmissible and said that the case of increase in prices of petroleum products was not admissible and if it decides on petrol prices, the court would go beyond the constitutional limits. Pricing of petroleum products is the prerogative of the government.
