The disgruntled wine shop owners of Sindh knocked at the Supreme Court’s (SC) door on Friday against the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) order to seal off all shops selling liquor in violation of the Hudood Ordinance of 1979.
Around 10 shop owners filed a petition through Asma Jahangir against the SHC’s March 2 order. They also requested the top court to suspend the order till the final verdict.
The petitioners’ contended that the livelihood of shopkeepers and their families was at stake because of the SHC’s orders. Over 24,000 citizens were working in the alcohol retail business in Sindh alone. Likewise, the order had not only affected the citizens working in the business but their families as well.
“The petitioners are not acting in any illegal manner. They were not given any opportunity to be heard or to make alternate business plans for themselves or their employees, and as such have been condemned unheard,” revealed the petition.
The petition claimed that the SHC order violated the fundamental right of the petitioner under Article 10-A of the Constitution. Neither due process was observed nor was any adequate opportunity of hearing provided to them.
“The petitioners are regular taxpayers and law-abiding citizens engaged in a lawful trade. There has never been a complaint against the petitioners before the excise or police authorities about any violation of terms of the licences granted to them under Articles 17 and 18 of the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order 1979 or otherwise of the petitioners being engaged in any illegal sales of alcohol,” it stated.
The SHC has not thoroughly examined the records of the petitioners’ sales to its individual customers or the procedures in place. Therefore, the high court has arbitrarily held that alcohol is being sold by the petitioners in violation of the Sindh Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Rules, 1979 particularly when there is not a single complaint against them.
“The interim impugned order is exceptional as it deprives the petitioners of their livelihoods based on a writ petition which is frivolous, repetitive and based on facts that are disputed by all parties,” the petition revealed.
It also pointed out that alcohol factories and stores are being operated all over Pakistan, including the Islamabad Capital Territory, Balochistan and Punjab.
Describing the court order as an exceptional one, it claimed a disruption in livelihood, which is a fundamental right, while the question of maintainability of the CP No D-6738 of 2016 was neither heard nor decided.
Earlier, the SHC while passing an order on March 2, gave the Sindh government 30 days to develop a mechanism in consultation with all stakeholders, including members of minority communities and wine shop owners, to come up with a ‘practical, transparent and implementable mechanism’, to ensure only licensed shops sell liquor to non-Muslims, both local and foreign, in compliance with quota restrictions.
It also directed the provincial excise and taxation department to close down all the shops. Additionally, the court ordered the director general of excise to maintain a proper record of wine/liquor sales, besides making it publicly available.
