MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Supreme Court has rejected a plea seeking a stay on the High Court’s decision in the Local Government Funds case.
During the hearing, the apex court made it clear that there will be no immediate stay on the recent decision of the High Court. In this case, Barrister Humayun appeared for the local government representatives while Advocate General Muhammad Nadeem Khan appeared for the government.
The legal dispute intensified when the local government representatives filed a writ petition in the High Court, which aimed to stop the spending of about Rs 5 billion of local government development funds by the members of the assembly.
The petitioners argued that these funds are the constitutional right of the local governments and should be used by the local government representatives instead of the members of the assembly.
Earlier, a divisional bench of the High Court comprising Justice Syed Shahid Bihar and Justice Chaudhry Khalid Rashid held a lengthy hearing on the case.
After the Supreme Court remanded the case, the High Court, after completion of arguments from all parties, delivered a reserved verdict on April 23, dismissing the writ petition of the local government representatives. This decision of the High Court paved the legal path for the use of funds by the members of the assembly.
After the High Court’s decision, the local government representatives had sought an immediate stay order from the Supreme Court to stop the distribution of funds; however, the Supreme Court today rejected this request and upheld the High Court’s decision.
According to legal experts, after this decision, the legal position regarding the use of local government funds has now become completely clear and is being seen as an important judicial precedent for the future.
