While issuing notices in response to plea questioning legality of incumbent chairman Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) Masroor Khan and member Oil Zainul Abideen Qureshi appointments, Islamabad High Court sought reply from both the officials and other respondents in the matter.
A single-member bench of the IHC comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb issued the directives in response to a writ of quo warranto which authorizes high court as a special form of legal action used to resolve a dispute over whether a specific person has the legal right to hold the public office that he or she occupies. Quo warranto is used to test a person’s legal right to hold an office, not to evaluate the person’s performance in the office.
Appearing before the bench, renowned advocate Supreme Court Dr G.M Chaudhry apprised the court in personal capacity that Imran Khan government appointed both the Ogra officials for a period of four years during February 2018 on recommendation of Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Accountability and Interior Mirza Shahzad Akbar who hold the office from July 22,2020 to January 24,2022.
Dr Chaudhry contended that other than elected representatives of the Parliament no one has formal legal authority to become head of Selection Committee to appoint Chairman and Member Oil of the OGRA. He was of the view that filling the vacant slots of Ogra Chairman and Member Oil in result of recommendation of incompetent authority resulted violation of the very basic law in the matter. He termed recommendations for appointments of both the Ogra officials was made by an incompetent authority (Selection Committee) without any lawful authority (ultra vires) and coram non judice.
Making Federation of Pakistan through Prime Minister, Secretary Cabinet Division, SAPM Mirza Shahzad Akbar , Chairman OGRA Masroor Khan and Member OGRA Qureshi as respondents, Dr Chaudhry urged the court to determine under which authority and provision of Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan both the Ogra officials were holding offices. He alleged legality of both the Ogra Officials appointment were illegal on the ground that their names were recommended by a person who lacked formal authority.
After hearing arguments in the matter, the court noted in its orders saying, “ The sole ground on which the petitioner has challenged the said appointments is that the same were made by the Federal Government on the recommendations of the Selection Committee which was chaired by the SAPM on Accountability and Interior”.
The court also stated in the order, “The petitioner appeared in person and relied upon the law laid down by this Court in the judgments reported as PLD 2020 Islamabad 449 and 2022 PLC (C.S.) 646 in support of his contention that an Advisor to the Prime Minister can neither be made a part of a Selection Committee in order to make recommendations for the appointments against statutory posts nor can he advise the Prime Minister to make appointments on such statutory posts”. Later, the bench issued notices to the respondents with direction to file their report and para-wise comments within a period of one month.
