The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that there was a need to interpret ways and means for using the discretionary funds allocated for parliamentarians and remarked that the court would examine the constitutional grounds of the funds.
The apex court also observed that constitutional queries had also been framed with the help of law experts in this regard.
A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed resumed hearing in cases regarding the usage of discretionary funds by former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and the usage of development funds in Balochistan.
The chief justice remarked that the parliamentarians took oath for protecting the rights of people and uplifting the constitution but after coming in parliament, they forgot fulfilling their promises.
Justice Jawwad S Khawaja categorically stated that the public exchequer belonged to the people of country and no one else had any right to use it at his own will.
He said if any government violated the rules and regulations, the court would come into action.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry remarked that the funds were distributed among 106 non-parliamentarians who were not entitled to the grant.
The CJ remarked that the former prime minister diverted money from Bhasha Dam and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) projects, which was illegal and unlawful.
Attorney General Munir A Malik apprised the court that the chief engineer had said that whenever they went for inspection, the influentials of the area pressurised them and threatened them.
The AG added that he was not sure about the monitoring system of the development projects and in that regard, he had to seek instructions from the concerned quarters.
Later, the court in its order directed the attorney general to give arguments on the issue on the next date of hearing and adjourned the case until July 17.