Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed slammed K-Electric on Monday, saying that its chief executive officer’s name should be placed on the no-fly list and murder cases should be registered against the company for the deaths that had taken place in Karachi due to electrocution. The CJP put KE CEO on the ECL after it was deemed that the company needs to take responsibility for the electrocutions in Karachi.
The apex court, under Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed, resumed hearing the case pertaining to deaths by electrocution and unscheduled load-shedding.
Karachi Electric warned of dire consequences by the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court warned the power distribution company of dire consequences over its poor performance, which the apex court said led to the loss of lives during the recent rains in Karachi.
KE CEO Moonis Alvi and National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) Chairman Tauseef H Farooqi were also present for the hearing today.
Read more: Those responsible for electrocution deaths in Karachi be booked, put on ECL: CJP
“The name of the KE CEO should be put on the ECL,” said the CJP, adding that a detailed audit of the company should be conducted. The chief justice said that KE should be ready to face every kind of accountability by the authorities.
“KE should give complete details (on its performance), (and tell) how many wires it has installed,” stressed the Justice Gulzar.
The chief justice lamented that the company had “done nothing” for Karachi, adding that it should be fined for causing problems for people through power outages.
The chief justice accused KE of disbanding all earth wires from the city. On the issue of power outages, the SC asked NEPRA to take notice immediately if the power supply in any area of the city, is cut off for even a minute.
The judge noted that for the entire night on Monday, there was a power outage in the Shahra-e-Faisal neighbourhood and people were forced to come out of their homes to sit outside.
Up to ten people die of electrocution in Karachi every day: Supreme Court
The CJP, in his remarks, cited the example of India, saying that he read that in such instances (poor performance) a board takes over a company. “They (India) have changed the entire infrastructure,” he said.
The judge also interjected when the KE CEO tried to speak up, saying: “Do not deliver a speech here, work instead. Did the entire nation trust you for this reason?”
The CEO of the electricity company managed a response, saying that in 2010, the line losses were 42% but now they have been reduced to 26%.
To which, the CJP once again indignantly warned the power supplier’s top official against unscheduled load-shedding in the metropolis.
In a similar hearing on Monday, the apex court then lambasted the sole power supplier of the city, saying that it will issue an order against KE.
The CJP said that a case should be registered against KE and its entire administration should be placed on the ECL.
He added that the directors of the power supplier should be arrested and sent to jail.
“Daily 8 to 10 people die due to electrocution,” said the CJP, adding that KE has meanwhile collected billions and trillions in its coffers. The CJP went forth with putting KE CEO on the ECL.
ECL’s history in Pakistan has been controversial, however. At the beginning of the current government’s tenure, the former Prime Minister and family members were placed on the list in relation to corruption charges levied by the NAB.
Nawaz Sharif was put on the Exit Control List on the request of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Before his release on bail, the three-time former prime minister had been serving a jail term in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail. His brother Shehbaz Sharif had been placed on the list too. Maryam Nawaz his daughter had been placed on the list twice.
The decision to put the name of Maryam Nawaz and Javed Latif on the Exit Control List (ECL) was taken after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) approached the government, fearing the accused might escape the accountability process by travelling abroad.
In comparison, India’s ‘No-fly’ list has been much less active. A Mumbai-based jeweller who created a hijack scare onboard a Jet Airways flight in October last year has become the first person to be put on the ‘National No Fly List’, eight months after it was unveiled.
Incidentally, he was also the first to be booked under the stringent Anti-Hijacking Act, which has replaced the vintage law of 1982.
Birju Kishore Salla (37) was arrested in October following the emergency landing made by the Mumbai-Delhi Jet Airways plane at the Ahmedabad airport. The pilot was alerted about a note that mentioned that there were hijackers and a bomb in the cargo area.
The then Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju had advised airlines to put him on the no-fly list, in addition to other statutory criminal action.
GVS News Desk