Punjab Revenue Authority

2016 PTD 1103 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE Judicial Precedent

Ss.3, 5 & 8Punjab Sales Tax on Services Act (XLII of 2012), Preamble & Ss. 6 & 39Punjab Revenue AuthorityPublic sector organizationAppointments to public sector organizationValidity of proceedingsImproper or non-constitution of statutory public sector organization/authorityEffect

Contention of the petitioner was, inter alia, that the Punjab Revenue Authority ("Authority") had not been lawfully constituted under S. 3 of the Punjab Revenue Authority Act, 2012 and that the appointment of the Chairperson and Members of said Authority by the Provincial Government had not been done in accordance with provisions of the Punjab Revenue Authority Act, 2012 and therefore, all actions taken by the said Authority were illegal

Validity

Legal establishment of the Authority, as a corporate body, was to be done through a notification under S. 3(1) of Punjab Revenue Authority Act, 2012 and admittedly, no such notification had been issued to date; hence the Authority had not been legally established under law

Contention of the respondents that S. 8 of Punjab Revenue Authority Act, 2012 provided that existence of any vacancy or any defect in the constitution of the Authority did not render the acts, proceedings, decisions, orders of the Authority invalid was not tenable; since said S. 8 of Punjab Revenue Authority Act, 2012 presupposed that the Authority had been lawfully established and constituted in the first place and the same was not a protection clause that covered for the failure of the Provincial Government to establish or constitute the Authority

No Rules or Regulations had so far been framed under Punjab Revenue Authority Act, 2012 and the Provincial Government had not determined the manner for the appointment of the Chairperson or Members of the Authority and it was submitted on behalf of the Provincial Government that no such policy or decision to such effect existed

Chairperson and Members, in the present case, were appointed through various notifications issued by the Provincial Government and perusal of said notifications indubitably revealed that the Authority had never been established

Chairperson of the said Authority had held himself out as the Authority itself, and transacted business of the Authority and also framed various Rules, and the Provincial Government granted approval to the said Rules, knowing well that the Authority had yet not been established or constituted and the said Rules had been put up for approval only by an individual

Chairperson had also appointed all the staff and the employees of the Authority singlehandedly

No open, fair and transparent process was followed by the Provincial Government in selecting members of the Authority and in absence of Rules, appointment of Members was ultra vires the Punjab Revenue Authority Act, 2012 besides being a fraud on the statute

No provision existed in the Punjab Revenue Authority Act, 2012 for appointment of ex-offico members and therefore the same done through notifications, in the present case, was without lawful authority

Appointments of both the Chairpersons, through notifications lacked transparency, openness and a deliberative and consultative process and was at best a case of pick and choose, which reeked of official arbitrariness besides being facially discriminatory

High Court that declared failure to establish the Authority under Punjab Revenue Authority Act, 2012 rendered all acts done by the Chairperson, purporting to be the Authority, as void ab initio and since Punjab Revenue Authority had never been established under S. 3(1) of the Punjab Revenue Authority Act, 2012, therefore appointments of the Chairperson and Members of the same were in violation of the provisions of Punjab Revenue Authority Act, 2012, and hence all actions, decisions, and orders passed by the said Authority, including all Rules framed thereunder, were without lawful authority and legal force, and that all appointments of officers made under S. 39 of the Punjab Sales Tax on Services Act, 2012, by the Authority also stood vitiated

High Court observed that the Provincial Government may properly establish and constitute the Punjab Revenue Authority in terms of S. 3 of the Punjab Revenue Authority Act, 2012 and principles of law

Constitutional petitions were allowed, accordingly.