A Lahore High Court division bench Wednesday reserved verdict on an intra-court appeal filed by federal ombudsman challenging a LHC single bench orders, barring it from hearing complaints of gas and electricity bills.
The division bench comprising Justice Ayesha A Malik and Justice Faisal Zaman Khan conducted the hearing of the appeal.
Earlier, petitioner’s counsel Shahzad Shaukat submitted that a LHC single bench had barred his client from hearing complaints regarding gas and electricity bills.
The counsel questioning the orders submitted that the ombudsman was empowered to hear such complaints and the court could not impose such a ban.
“The ombudsman was not only authorised to hear complaints against bills but also malpractices issues,” he added. He said that even Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) ordinance did not impose such a ban. He pleaded the court to set aside the single bench orders declaring them illegal.
However, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines counsel Umar Sharif opposed the request and submitted that the single bench orders were on merit as the ombudsman did not have authority to hear complaints regarding bills. He said that specialised forums were available for the purpose whereas the ombudsman did not have skilled persons for such matters.
The bench after hearing arguments of both parties reserved the verdict.
