The Lahore High Court on Tuesday expressed dismay over non-completion of inquiry into alleged scam of medicine purchase at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), and ordered the health secretary and others to grant access to sacked pharmacist Fareeha Majeed to the probe committee.
Through her counsel advocate Sheraz Zaka, Fareeha filed a contempt petition against the Punjab health secretary and PIC Chairman Khawaja Ahmad Hassaan, submitting that she had been denied access to the documents presented to the inquiry committee despite the court’s order. She maintained that she was not given the right to be heard before the committee.
Upon this, Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza expressed dismay and directed the assistant advocate general and health secretary to give access to the petitioner to the documents presented to the inquiry committee. The judge also allowed the petitioner to submit more documents in this respect, and put off the hearing until June 15.
In her petition, Fareeha had submitted that the authorities were not allowing her to get into inquiry despite the fact that she had unearthed the scam and had been removed from the job.
Her counsel had argued that the inquiry proceedings conducted by the health secretary were not impartial, adding that the petitioner had requested the secretary to involve her in the inquiry proceedings since she had enough evidence to prove the mala fide intent on part of the medical superintendent and medicine contractor.
The counsel had claimed that the petitioner had not been allowed to join the inquiry owing to the influence exerted by PIC Chairman Khawaja Ahmad Hassaan and Medical Superintendent Sohail Saqlain.
