Daily Times

The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday directed the high court to hear cases on a daily basis pertaining to price fixation of sugar and decide the case within 30 days. A three-member bench headed by Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan heard the case pertaining to the price of sugar in the country. At the outset of the hearing, the counsel of Sugar Mills adopted the stance that the identical case was fixed for a hearing on September 20 before the high court. The additional attorney general (AAG) said that the top court had ordered to submit the difference in sugar price before it, adding that the high court had also suspended the prices fixed by the provincial government. He said that the sugar price was Rs98 per kilogram but the sugar mills were now selling it at Rs200 per Kg. The AAG prayed the court to issue directives for submission of the report to the registrar’s office of the top court pertaining to the difference in the price. At this, Justice Ahsan observed that why there was haste in it, the high court would take the decision after hearing the case.

The AAG said that the recovery in price would be difficult with the passage of time. The court subsequently ordered the high court to hear the case on a daily basis and announced the verdict in 30 days.

Meanwhile, the SC declared that the acquisition of land for the construction of Dadocha Dam as legal and instructed for a fresh estimation of its value to pay compensation to the owners. The apex court, in a 12-page order written by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, said that the notification for acquiring the land for public interest could be issued in the official gazette. It said that the notification issued for acquiring of the land was as per the law. The court also ordered the authorities to estimate the fresh compensation keeping in view the increasing value of the said land. It may be mentioned that the owners had challenged the land acquisition.

Meanwhile, the apex court dismissed a petition regarding the postmortem of prominent TV host Dr Aamer Liaqat who died in June 2022. A three-member bench headed by Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan heard the case. At the outset of hearing, Justice Ahsan remarked that after passing of so much time the petition had become ineffective. The body would have discomposed now after lapse of years, he added.

Dania Aamer’s lawyer said that they wanted to submit more documents if the court granted some time in this regard. The reasons of the death of Aamer Liaqat could be identified through the postmortem. However, the lawyer prayed the court to grant permission to withdraw the case. The court rejected the request and dismissed the case.