LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday rejected appeals regarding the relocation of three sugar mills, owned by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his relatives, to southern Punjab districts, declaring the move illegal.

The court also ordered the appellants to move the mills back to their previous locations within three months.

The intra-court appeals had been filed regarding the 2016 decision of a single bench which had taken up a petition against the relocation of ChaudhrySugar Mills (which had relocated to Rahim Yar Khan), Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mills (which had relocated to Muzaffargarh) and Ittefaq Sugar Mills (relocated to Bahawalpur).

JDW Sugar Mills owned by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen and others had agitated the matter against relocation of mills owned by the Sharif family. The PTIleader had argued that the mills had been moved in violation of a ban imposed by the government. The petitioners had claimed that the Sharif f amily had established new mills under the pretence of relocating them.

`It is declared that shifting/re-location of the three sugar mills, from Central Punjab to South of Punjab is a violation of the Punjab Industries (control on establishment and enlargement) the Ordinance 1963, as well as, the ban notification, hence the establishment of the three sugar mills is declared illegal and without lawful authority,` says the ruling passed by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Shujaat Ali Khan. The bench had earlier reserved its verdict on May 26.

The bench ruled that relocating the mills was not different from setting up new sugar mills, while the relocation notification was ultra vires of the ordinance. It noted that the sugar mills had been established without the requisiteEnvironmental Impact Assessment (EIA)under the Punjab Environmental Protection Act, 1997.

The bench observed the appellants (sugar mills) had not only established new mills by relying on a misconceived interpretation of the ban and Section 3 of the ordinance, but they had also disregarded the court`s restraining orders. `This is the bleakest aspect of the case, which tells tales of how court orders have been repeatedly flouted and rule of law trampled upon by the appellants,` it added.

The bench ruled that the appellants, in disregard of the law and stay orders, had relocated and completed the construction of the mills and began operation at the new locations in southern Punjab.

The judges directed the mills to dismantle and remove their plant and machinery within three months and move them to the location they were at when the court had issued its first stay order in the case.The court also directed the provincial government to submit a progress report on the administrative side. In case of non-compliance, the bench said, the office would put up the case before the court for appropriate orders.

Theyobservedthatincaseofchangein circumstances, for example ecology, economics or the environment, the government was free to reconsider the ban in light of Section 3 of the ordinance, if so advised.Itclarihed thatinfuture,if a sugar mill wished to relocate from one area to another in Punjab, it could file an application under Section 3, if there was no ban on the establishment of new sugar mills.

Advocates Makhdoom Ali Khan, Salman Akram Raja and Ali Sibtain Fazli had represented the Sharif family`s sugar mills, while Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, Barrister Syed Ali Zafar and Chaudhry Shaukat Ali had appeared on behalf of JDW Sugar Mills. Khwaja Harris had argued the case on behalf of the Punjab government.