LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday stayed the construction of a road in Rajanpur district with funds collected under the head of Sugarcane Development Cess.
Justice Jawad Hassan admitted a petition by Indus Sugar Mills Limited for regular hearing and ordered the suspension of an e-tender for the road construction till the next hearing on Dec 9.
The mill also challenged the constitution and composition of the committee and the allocation andproposeduse ofcessfundsfor building and improving roads.
Its counsel, Ahmad Raza, argued that Rule 9(a-1), clause (ix), of the Punjab Sugarcane (Development) Cess Rules, 1964prescribes the committee’s membership to ensure representation of stakeholders and transparent use of public money.
He said the member of the Provincial Assembly for the constituency where the mill stands, Muhammad Awais Drashik (PP296), was not included in the committee despite this requirement.
The counsel said the mill had repeatedly written to the authorities and the committee about the irregularity but received no effective response.
He said the petitioner’s grievance concerned the lawful constitution of a body that decides how a statutory levy is spent, not the exclusion of one individual.
He cited Articles 4 and 10-A of the Constitution, an LHC ruling that statutory bodies must act within their legal limits, and aSupreme Court judgement (2013 SCMR 1159) on the maintainability of petitions that mix personal grievances with questions of public importance.
Additional Advocate General Bashir Ahmed Buzdar, who raised an objection to maintainability, told the court that only the Rajanpur deputy commissioner had so far filed a written statement. The other three respondents had not filed reports or comments, he added and sought more time.
Justice Hassan observed that the dispute is not an ordinary administrative disagreement.
Where the law prescribes how an act is to be done, he held, an authority cannot substitute its own arrangement, and a mandatory requirementcannotbemaderedundant by administrative practice.
Finding a prima facie case andthat the balance of convenience favoured the mill, the judge suspended the e-tender notice of Oct 9, 2026, issued by the superintending engineer, Highway Circle, Dera Ghazi Khan, along with further proceedings by the committee.
He noted that letting the tender go ahead could create thirdparty interests and frustrate any final order.
The judge directed the law officer to ensure that the respondents file their statements by the next hearing.
The judge also summoned the Rajanpur deputy commissioner in person, along with senior officers from the offices of other respondent departments. He clarified that the interim arrangement was not an opinion on the merits.