Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The federal government is set to file a petition before the Supreme Court, seeking its review of the judgement wherein the top court had restrained the prime minister from deciding finance-related matter without the federal cabinet’s approval.

Sources said that law officer Rana Waqar has drafted the review petition under Article 188 of the constitution.

They added that the draft of the review petition had been prepared, and it would be filed soon after the Eid holidays.

The judgement came after appeals filed by the importers of cellular phones and textile goods wherein they had challenged certain government decisions on sales tax.

On 18 August, a 75-page judgement authored by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar ruled that the prime minister could not make any decision relating to fiscal matters without prior approval of the cabinet, as the federal government was a collective entity described as the cabinet constituting the prime minister and federal ministers.

“Neither a secretary, nor a minister and nor the prime minister are the federal government and the exercise, or purported exercise, of a statutory power exercise-able by the federal government by any of them, especially, in relation to fiscal matters, is constitutionally invalid and a nullity in the eyes of the law,” the top court had ruled.

The top court had also ruled that budgetary expenditure or discretionary governmental expenditure could only be authorised by the federal government, ie the cabinet, and not the prime minister on his own.

The judgement had said that Rule 16(2), which apparently enables the prime minister to bypass the cabinet, is ultra vires. It said that any act, or statutory instrument – for example, the Telecommunication (Re-Organisation) Act, 1996 – purporting to describe any entity or organisation other than the cabinet as the federal government, is ultra vires and a nullity.

Similarly, no bill can be moved in parliament on behalf of the federal government without having been approved in advance by the cabinet. The cabinet has to be given a reasonable opportunity to consider, deliberate on and make decisions in relation to all proposed legislation, including the finance bill or ordinance or act.