Lahore High Court chief justice on Wednesday sought till January 19 all details from the federal government and Wapda about total cost of production and supply of electricity from all production sources including thermal, coal, gas, furnace oil, and solar and the cause of loadshedding. The court also sought schedule of power cuts and details of uninterrupted electricity supply to VVIPs including President House, Prime Minister House, Governor House, CM House and other VVIP personalities.
The petition was filed by Muhammad Azhar Siddique advocate. He pleaded that under article 19-A of the Constitution, people who pay inflated electricity bills, have right to know the product and supply cost for justification of hundreds taxes and duties added in the monthly bills. He said though people were suffering long electricity load shedding they were still being charged a number of surcharges such fuel adjustment duty, fuel price adjustment duty, Equalization Surcharge and Neelam Jhelum Surcharge. He said the whole burden of Line Losses, electricity thief, wapda corruption and cost of electricity’s purchase from Rented Power Projects (RPPs) and IPPs is shifted to the masses through all sort of uncalled for surcharges.
He said the government was robbing the public through Wapda, adding that the said details be obtained from the authorities concerned.
FIR REGISTERED AGAINST FOUR DAEWOO DIRECTORS: The acting Punjab inspector general of police (IGP) Wednesday on Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Umer Ata Bandial’s directives registered FIR against four directors of Daewoo Company, two of them foreigners, on charges of preparing forged resignation documents of a director in a bid throw him out of the company.
A petition was heard against non-registration of FIR filed by Inam Ali, a shareholder and director of Daewoo Logistic (Pvt) Limited and former Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service country general manager, a sister company of Daewoo Logistic (Pvt) limited company, who contended that he had been fraudulently removed by the accused through forged documents. Acting Punjab IGP Zahid Mehmood and the Gulberg station house officer (SHO) appeared in court on Wednesday and said the FIR had been registered late Tuesday night, after they were summoned to court. The court was annoyed by the police’s attitude, delays and non-compliance with session court orders for registration of FIR under Sections 22-A and 22-B.
The court would resume hearing into the matter on January 25.
RECORDS OF TERMINATED PHYSICISTS DEMANDED FROM PPSC: The LHC on Wednesday summoned terminated ad-hoc pharmacists’ examination and interview records from the Punjab Public Service Commission.
Earlier, counsel for the removed pharmacists said the chief minister had terminated the petitioners’ jobs on political grounds, while he had exercised his discretionary powers to regularise hundreds of other health department employees. The counsel asked the court to take notice of the injustice.
He prayed to the court to set aside termination of the petitioners as illegal and without lawful authority. Justice Umar Ata Bandial summoned records of written examinations and interviews conducted by the service commission of the petitioners.
The judge adjourned further hearing till January 31. The court had already stayed the termination of the petitioners.
