The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) on Tuesday dismissed the Competition Commission’s plea seeking correction of an alleged error in its ruling on fines imposed on sugar mills, while also rejecting review petitions in the case.
In a seven-page judgment authored by Justice Shakeel Ahmed, the Supreme Court refused to modify its earlier decision on the basis of what was described as an oral consensus between the parties.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, the bench held that remanding the matter to the tribunal was not a clerical mistake but a conscious judicial determination.
The Commission had argued that despite an alleged verbal agreement among the parties, the case had been referred to the wrong forum.
The court, however, observed that courts speak through their written judgments and that oral statements or informal understandings carry no legal weight.
The Supreme Court further held that the chairperson of the Competition Commission of Pakistan violated Article 10A of the Constitution by exercising a casting vote to break a deadlock within a four-member bench.
The split had emerged during proceedings against sugar mills, after which the chairperson used her casting vote to impose fines.
On appeal, the tribunal had declared the casting vote unlawful and remanded the matter to the commission.
The Supreme Court upheld its earlier direction requiring the appellate tribunal to hear the parties and issue a fresh decision within 90 days, observing that when an opposing party denies the existence of consensus, a review cannot be granted solely on the basis of an oral claim.
Reporter: Amanat Gishkori