The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday declared the federal notification of fixing sugar price in Punjab as void. A division bench of the high court, headed by Justice Shahid Karim announced its reserved verdict with regard to fixing sugar price in Punjab. “It is the mandate of the Punjab government to fix the price of sugar in the province,” the LHC decide.The bench declared federal notification for fixing sugar price, issued by the federal secretary, Controller General Price, as void. The court in its brief verdict said that the Price Act 1977 being declared void in the jurisdiction of Punjab. “A detailed verdict of the case will be issued later”.

The sugar mills had challenged the federal government’s notification with regard to fixing the price of sugar. The high court, earlier on a petition of sugar mills issued notices to the federal government and other parties in the case. “Fixing sugar price is the mandate of the federal government or provinces,” the court posed question. Sugar mills lawyer Imtiaz Siddiqui argued that the sugar price could not be fixed with a decision of the federal cabinet. “After 18th Amendment, provinces have been mandated to take decisions over affairs related to the food sector,” counsel argued.

 “In contravention to the court order, sugar price was fixed without consulting the mills,” lawyer said. “The sugar advisory board, while fixing the price, neither consulted nor heard the mills point of view,” lawyer told the court. He pleaded to the court to suspend the one-sided fixing of sugar price by the board.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)