Fuel Price Adjustment - Islamabad High Court

W.P No.2972/2011 Page 42 of 67of many State owned enterprises and throughentrustment of activities (which hitherto were undertakenby the State) to companies initially owned by the State butslated for disinvestment through privatization. The mostrelevant example of this, in the context of the presentcase is the creation of the Oil and Gas DevelopmentCompany Ltd. It has been incorporated under theCompanies ordinance, 1984 pursuant to the Oil and GasDevelopment Corporation (Re-organization) Ordinance2001. In view of this increasing trend towardsprivatization, regulation has emerged as perhaps thesingle most important function of the State in the sphereof macro-economics.I find it appropriate to borrow the words of wisdom fromHonorable Supreme Court, on the powers of superiorcourts on the judicial review.A Larger Bench of thehonorable Supreme Court in 2011 PLC (CS) 1076 (HajjCorruption case) held that:“20. The judiciary including the High Courts and theSupreme Court is bound to protect and preserve theConstitution as well as to enforce fundamental rightsconferred by the Constitution either individually orcollectively, in exercise of the jurisdiction conferred upon iteither under Article 199 or 184(3) of the Constitution. We arefully cognizant of our jurisdiction; it is one of the functions ofthe judicial functionaries to decide the matters strictly inaccordance with the Constitution and law. We are consciousof our jurisdiction, and exercise the same with judicialrestraint. But such restraint cannot be exercised at the costof rights of the citizens to deny justice to them.The scheme of the constitution makes it obligatory on thepart of superior Courts to interpret constitution, law andenforce fundamental rights. There is no cavil with theproposition that ultimate arbiter is the Court which is thecustodian of the Constitution, as it has been noted hereinbefore and without repeating the same, this Court hadinitiated proceedings in the instant case as is evident fromthe detailed facts and circumstances noted hereinabove toensure that corruption and corrupt practices by which theHujjaj were looted and robed has brought bad name to thecountry.23. This Court is of the considered view that a democraticsystem must prevail in the Country which aspect has beenhighlighted in the case of Sindh High Court BarAssociation’s Case (PLD 2009 SC 879) wherein all theactions of the military dictator were declaredunconstitutional besides the elections held in February,2008 was also under threat of being declared illegal werevalidated to promote will of the electorate. Justice AbdulHameed Dogar, who was not recognized as lawful Chief