Impleading Minister as a Party in a suit
PLJ 1990 · Lahore High Court (Rawalpindi Bench)
This Supreme Court judgment, reported as PLJ 1990 SC 543, dealt with a dispute over the registration of the Islamabad Stock Exchange under the Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969. Applicants had sought registration of a new stock exchange, but their application was effectively refused, partly through an order attributed to a Minister of State. The High Court had earlier found that the Minister's order was vitiated by malafide (bad faith), even though the Minister had not been formally made a party to the case, relying instead on principles of natural justice.
The Supreme Court majority disagreed with this approach. It held that Article 248 of the Constitution, which protects the President, Governors and Ministers from being personally blamed for acts done in their official capacity, cannot be bypassed simply by invoking natural justice. Courts cannot record adverse findings of personal bad faith against a Minister unless he has been properly impleaded as a party or has appeared as a witness. However, the Court still found the refusal of registration unlawful because the statutory procedure was not followed properly—no hearing was given, no reasons were recorded, and the decision was not communicated correctly, violating mandatory requirements of the law.
The Court dismissed the appeals, upheld that the registration process must be reconsidered afresh, and ordered adverse remarks against the former Minister to be removed from the judgment. The case is important for clarifying the limits of constitutional immunity for public officeholders and the right to a fair hearing in administrative decisions.
Urdu translation not yet generated for this case.