SC reinstates Sharif family plea in sugar mills case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court reinstated Sharif family’s appeal challenging a Lahore High Court (LHC) decision to shut three sugar mills from southern Punjab within three months.

Due to the absence of Ittefaq Sugar Mills counsel, Salman Akram Raja, the court had dismissed the appeal after finding the counsel for Waqas Sugar Mills unprepared. However, Raja arrived in the courtroom before a written order regarding the dismissal of the appeal was signed. The counsel for Ittefaq Sugar Mills requested the court to restore the appeal.

Advising Raja against appearing late for a hearing, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar said no exceptions will be made if he appeared late again. Raja responded by saying that he would not ask for any exceptions either.

During court proceedings, the chief justice noted that the Sharif family had initially claimed the sugar mills were power plants. He observed whether contempt of court could be applied in this matter.

Case History

In December 2006, through a notification, the Punjab government had banned the setting up of new sugar mills and the expansion of the existing ones. The prohibition included the relocation of mills as well.

However, in 2015, the provincial government had amended the 2006 notification to allow relocation. This revision led to the relocation of Chaudhry Sugar Mills to Rahim Yar Khan, Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mills to Muzaffargarh and Ittefaq Sugar Mills to Bahawalpur. All three mills are believed to be the property of the Sharif family.

In 2016, however, Tareen challenged the relocation of the mills in the LHC, arguing that the amendment was only made to benefit the Sharif family and that the relocation was illegal.

In September 2017, the high court declared the relocations illegal and ordered that the owners of the mills return to their previous locations within three months. Later, three sugar mills, which are believed to be owned by the Sharif family, challenged the LHC judgment in the apex court.

Source: Express Tribune