Meeting of minds: Railways should consider sharing profits with Royal Palm LAHORE: Supreme Court urged Pakistan Railways on Wednesday to consider an offer made by the administration of Royal Palm Golf and Country Club to share 50 per cent of its profits instead of 10 per cent, which it was getting earlier. Justice Saqib Nisar issued the order on a petition filed by former railways minister Ishaq Khan Khakwani, challenging the award of a contract by Royal Palm Golf and Country Club to Maxcorp Husnain (Pakistan) Limited. The petitioner said the organisation was scamming the government. He said the Royal Palm Club had allowed marquees for weddings outside of the contract and was making a great deal of profits without giving Railways its due share. Pakistan Railways owns the land on which Royal Palm Club is built. Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, on behalf of the Royal Palm Club, said the contract had been drawn by the Pakistan Railways and Royal Palm Golf and Country Club after a transparent process of competitive bidding. He said they were not trying to scam the government, Maxcorp Husnain (Pakistan) Limited had fulfilled all the obligations and had built a premier golf club. Barrister Zafar said throughout the period of the contract, the Royal Palm Club’s accounts had been audited by a leading chartered accountancy firm and Pakistan Railways had received more than Rs530 million under the heads of revenue sharing, commitment and land use. Zafar said the contract had been executed between independent parties and in case of a dispute regarding its validity, the only recourse available to Railways was to refer the matter for arbitration. He said the Supreme Court could not decide any factual controversies, as under Article 10A of the Constitution all civil rights had to be determined through fair trial, while the proceedings under Article 184(3) did not amount to a fair trial as they were inquisitorial in nature. He said his clients had nothing to hide. He said if the court had any doubts regarding the accounts, it could appoint an independent auditor to verify the accounts. To the court’s query as to whether the contract allowed the Royal Palm Club to set up marquees for weddings, Zafar said the contract did not prohibit it. He said the Supreme Court should uphold its validity and only interfere where fraud is proven on the record, which was not the case. Pakistan Railways and the Government of Pakistan alleged that the contract was not awarded fairly and should be declared void. In response to these allegations, Zafar said according to the terms and conditions of the Implementation Agreement, the terms favoured Pakistan Railways as they shared 10 per cent of the revenue. Barrister Zafar said his clients were willing to share the profits equally. At this, the court adjourned the hearing and directed Pakistan Railways and the government to consider the offer and respond before Tuesday, January 20. Published in The Express Tribune, January 15th, 2015.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 19:20:27 +0000
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