LHC adjourns hearing of plea against petroleum products shortage till July 9

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday adjourned hearing of a petition against shortage of petroleum products till July 9 and sought parawise comments from officials concerned.

The single bench comprising LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan heard the petition filed by one Shabir Hussain.

Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Javed Khan, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) Chairperson Uzma Adil and others appeared before the court.

At the start of proceedings, the petitioner submitted that he wanted to withdraw the petition as shortage of petroleum products had ended.

However, the chief justice did not allow the request for withdrawing the petition and rejected it.

In response to a court query, amicus curiae Advocate Malik Awais stated that OGRA and the Petroleum Ministry were responsible for regulating import and storage of petroleum products.

He submitted that OGRA, Petroleum Ministry, oil companies and people were stakeholders.

At this stage, the chief justice addressed the attorney general and sought explanation over raising prices of petroleum products.

The OGRA chairperson told the court that she was holding the office since 2016, in response to a court query.

The chief justice directed the chairperson for submitting a report about storage of oil by the companies since 2016.

The chief justice observed that shortage of petroleum was a big crisis and how it should be investigated in a transparent manner.

He suggested that a parliamentary committee be formed for probing the issue or otherwise a commission should be constituted under Criminal Procedure Code.

Subsequently, the court adjourned the proceedings till July 9 and sought comments from the officials concerned.

The court also converted fine imposed on the OGRA chairperson into a donation and asked her to deposit the same in the account of hospital for bar association.