The Supreme Court, in its short order, on Tuesday set aside the Lahore High Court’s verdict in the allotment of haj quota, calling it a violation of the principle of trichotomy of powers, which it said, was one of the foundational principles of the constitution.
A two-member SC bench of Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and Justice Amir Muslin Hani while accepting the haj tour operators’ appeals against the LHC’s order, observed that it was not the high court’s function to interfere in the policymaking domain of the executive.
The SC’s short order stated that the LHC, in exercise of its constitutional jurisdiction, directed that the selection of haj group organisers be conducted through bidding and thereby substituted the criterion laid down in the haj policy framed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs without hearing the appellants, who had already been allocated the quota and had made arrangements for the intending pilgrims, which was not tenable in law.
The LHC in its order on June 24, directed the selection of haj group organisers through bidding and substituted the criterion laid down in the haj policy framed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs without hearing the appellants and others who had already been allocated quota and had made arrangements for the intending pilgrims.
The SC said the Ministry of Religious Affairs would continue to regulate the operation of haj, ie enrollment, registration and allocation of quota, every year in the light of a fair and transparent policy and in accordance with the guidelines to be laid down in the detailed judgement.
