While annulling the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) decision of forming acommittee for determining the prices of livestock and poultry products, theSupreme Court Tuesday ruled that the high courts could not exercise thepower of taking suo motu notice.
The apex court in its ruling said that the high courts did not have theauthority to take suo motu notice under Article 199 of the Constitution.
“Only the Supreme Court has the power to take suo motu notice under Article184/3,” it added.
The PHC had ordered the formation of a committee to determine the prices oflivestock and poultry products.
It had ordered the government officials to visit the markets to ensure thesale of quality milk and other commodities.
Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan wrote an eight-page judgment.
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He, in his ruling, said that only the issue of the goods’ prices was beingheard by the high court. “The high court has exercised the power of suomotu notice more than once,” the ruling said.
“The high court decided to ban the export of poultry products,” it added.
“The authority to import and export goods is not with the court but withthe administration only,” it stated.
