KARACHI – The Sindh High Court on Tuesday dismissed a constitutional petition challenging the mechanism used for determining petrol prices nd prices of other petroluem products, ruling that the matter falls within the domain of the government and Parliament and is not subject to judicial intervention in the absence of a violation of fundamental rights.
A Sindh High Court constitutional bench heard the petition, which questioned the procedure adopted for fixing the prices of petrol and other products.
After hearing the arguments, the bench declared the petition non-maintainable and dismissed it.
In its observations, the court held that the determination of the prices of petrol and other products, taxes, and related fiscal measures is a policy matter that lies within the constitutional authority of the executive and the legislature. It said decisions regarding pricing mechanisms and taxation are part of the government’s broader economic and financial policies.
The bench further observed that courts generally refrain from interfering in economic and fiscal policymaking unless there is a clear violation of constitutional or fundamental rights. It pointed out that framing and implementing financial and economic policies is the responsibility of the government, while Parliament has the authority to legislate on taxation and related matters.
The court ruled that the petitioner had failed to establish that any fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution had been infringed. It added that mere dissatisfaction with petroleum prices or disagreement with the government’s pricing policy does not provide sufficient grounds for invoking the constitutional jurisdiction of the court.
The bench emphasized that judicial review cannot be used to challenge government policy decisions solely on the basis of public dissatisfaction unless they are shown to be unconstitutional or unlawful.
With these observations, the Sindh High Court dismissed the petition as non-maintainable, reaffirming that issues relating to petroleum pricing and taxation fall within the policy-making powers of the executive and legislative branches rather than the judiciary.
