ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has overturned the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) ruling in the subsidised wheat case, siding with the Sindh government and reaffirming that policymaking falls within the executive’s domain.
A three-member FCC bench, led by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, heard the Sindh government’s appeal against the Sukkur Bench of the SHC’s May 31, 2023, decision.
The case originated in 2023 when owners, licensees, and partners of various flour mills petitioned the SHC. They claimed that under the new Wheat Release Policy, officials of the Sindh Food Department had denied them wheat quotas, citing their or past licensees’ involvement in National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cases. According to the policy, anyone with a NAB plea bargain could not receive a quota.
The SHC had ruled that imposing additional penalties outside the legal framework amounted to extra-judicial action, calling the denial of wheat quotas “alien to the object of the Act, 1958” and unconstitutional. It had ordered that quotas be granted to petitioners who were otherwise eligible.
However, the FCC observed that the High Court had overstepped its authority by interfering with the executive’s lawful powers. The judgment stated, “The High Court of Sindh, Bench at Sukkur has erred by interfering in the lawful powers and authority of the executive in its smooth working within its powers and authority.”
During the hearing, Sindh Additional Advocate General Sibtain Mahmood argued that the SHC guidelines were inconsistent with the Constitution. Additional Attorney General Manawwar Duggal emphasized that policy formulation is exclusively the executive’s prerogative. Justice Ali Baqar Najafi noted, “The executive frames policy and then announces it.”
The FCC allowed the Sindh government’s appeal and set aside the SHC verdict.
