LAHORE: A division bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday reserved judgment on an appeal against shifting of Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mills in Muzaffargarh, Ittefaq Sugar Mills and Chaudhry Sugar Mills in Rahim Yar Khan, all believed to be owned by the Sharif family.
The bench had already ordered sealing of the three sugar mills for their shifting to new locations in violation of stay orders.
The bench had also issued contempt of court notices to chief executive officers of these mills for violating the stay order.
The administration of these mills had filed intra courts appeals (ICAs), challenging decision of a single bench that declared their shifting to other districts as illegal.
JDW Sugar Mills of PTI leader Jahangir Tareen had approached the court against relocation of these mills.
Tareen’s counsel Barrister Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan had said that secretary industries had issued the impugned notifications on December 4, 2015 with malafide intention to facilitate the desired relocation of these sugar mills. He said under section 3 of Punjab Industries (Control on Establishment and Enlargement) Ordinance, there was a restriction on establishment of industrial undertaking without provincial government’s permission.
He submitted that under this section, various notifications had been issued imposing restriction on establishing new sugar mills in the province. He had pleaded that it was the government’s consistent position that relocation amounts to establishing of a new industrial undertaking.
Khwaja Harris, counsel on behalf of the Punjab government, had said that under the law, a sugar mill was required to seek permission from the department concerned for its relocation. He said that relocation of mills was the right and there was no mala fide in relocation policy introduced by the government for sugar mills in 2015.
Counsel on behalf of Haseeb Waqas and Chaudhry Sugar Mills asserted that the law did not require permission for the shifting, but for establishing new sugar mills.
On Friday, after conclusion of arguments, the bench reserved its decision.
