LAHORE: Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mills, believed to be owned by close relatives of the ruling Sharif family, has challenged the jurisdiction of a Lahore High Court division bench to initiate contempt proceedings against it on alleged violation of a stay issued by a single bench.

`Since the order of the single bench is alleged to have been disobeyed, therefore, the contempt notice cannot be issued by the division bench,` the mills` Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mian Waqas Riaz said in a written reply submitted before the division bench that issued contempt of court notices to Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mills, Ittefaq Sugar Mills and Chaudhry Sugar Mills for violating stay orders against new construction and sugar crushing.

The bench headed by Chief JusticeSyed Mansoor Ali Shah had issued the contempt notices to the three mills during hearing of their appeals challenging an LHC decision against shifting of the mills. The bench also ordered immediate sealing of the mills.

The reply filed through Advocate A.K. Dogar further stated that the division bench had no jurisdiction to hear the contempt of a single bench order.

The counsel said the respondent, Mian Waqas Riaz, was a law-abiding citizen and could never think of disobeying order of any court. Evenif the bench had a view that there was some slight resemblance of disregarding the stay orders, it was the duty of the respondent as a citizen to unconditionally throw himself at the mercy of the court by submitting an apology, he added.

He said record showed that the respondent mills had not established any sugar mills, but shifted andtransferred the old mills from Nankana Sahib to Muzaff argarh. The fact could be proved, as the old mills did not exist at its previous site, the counsel added.

Besides Mr Riaz, Ittef aq Sugar Mills CEO Mian Javed Shafi and Chaudhry Sugar Mills CEO Yousaf Abbas also appeared before the bench.

The bench adjourned the contempt matter till June 13 and allowed time to the two remaining mills to file their replies. The bench also heard arguments of Punjab government`s counsel on main appeals of the mills and postponed hearing till June 24.

JDW Sugar Mills of PTI leader Jahangir Tareen and others had assailed the relocation of the Sharif family`s mills. They had argued that the mills were shifted to other districts in violation of a ban and without permission from the provincial government.