Law: General Clauses Act, 1897

Section: 6

Law: Constitution of Pakistan, 1973

Section: 264

Privatization Commission Ordinance, 2000 (LII of 2000)-- ----Ss. 28 & 33--General Clauses Act, 1897 (X of 1897), S. 6--Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, Art. 264--Intra-Court Appeal--omission of statutory provision--Change of forum--Right of appeal--Vested right--Procedural law--Retrospective operation--Forum of appeal--Jurisdiction of High Court--Appellate tribunal--Pending proceedings--Effect of statutory amendment--Maintainability of appeal--Return of appeal for presentation before Supreme Court--Right of appeal was a vested and substantive right accruing on date of institution of proceedings and could not be taken away except by express words or necessary implication; however, forum for exercising such right was procedural in nature and right of appeal and forum of appeal were distinct concepts--It was held that although a litigant possessed a vested right of appeal, he had no vested right to have appeal heard by a particular forum, bench composition or procedural arrangement--Court reiterated that statutes relating to procedure, including those altering forum of adjudication, operated retrospectively and applied to pending proceedings unless they adversely affected a vested or substantive right--Court held that omission of S. 33 of Privatization Commission Ordinance 2000 by Amendment Act, 2024 constituted a procedural change relating to forum of appeal and did not extinguish substantive right of appeal--It was held that after omission of section 33 of Privatization Commission Ordinance, 2000, High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain an intra-court appeal filed under said provision--Court held that amendment merely changed procedural forum for hearing appeals and did not affect any accrued rights, privileges or liabilities of parties--Appeal returned.                                                                    [Pp.…