The Sindh High Court’s constitutional bench has directed Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) to pay Rs789 million after accepting the gas royalty claim filed by Akbar Bugti’s grandson. The Court’s constitutional bench declared the earlier decision of a single-member bench null and void and allowed the gas royalty application filed by Al Bugti, grandson of late former Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Akbar Bugti.
The ruling overturned an earlier decision by a single-member bench, which had dismissed the royalty claim and asked the petitioner to provide a fresh succession certificate. The constitutional bench subsequently allowed the claim and ordered OGDC to release the outstanding gas royalty amount. The development follows a legal dispute over the payment of royalties, with the petitioner seeking his share as a legal heir, according to media reports.
The ruling overturned an earlier decision by a single-member bench, which had dismissed the royalty claim and asked the petitioner to provide a fresh succession certificate. The case was filed by Ali Bugti, grandson of former Balochistan chief minister Nawab Akbar Bugti, over unpaid gas royalties. According to the petition, OGDC stopped making royalty payments in 2016. The petitioner subsequently approached the Sindh High Court, seeking payment of royalties for the period from 2011 to 2016.
His counsel informed the court that OGDC had entered into an agreement with Nawab Zong Khan Bugti concerning the gas royalty. Zong Khan Bugti died in Florida, United States, on March 3, 1995. According to the petitioner’s lawyer, Muhammad Farooq, OGDCL had an agreement with Nawab Zong Khan Bugti for the payment of gas royalties. Farooq said Ali Bugti had approached the Sindh High Court seeking payment of the gas royalty due for the period from 2011 to 2016. The petition stated that OGDCL had stopped paying the royalty in 2016.
Earlier, a single-member bench had rejected the application and directed the petitioner to submit a new succession certificate. The petitioner challenged the decision before the Sindh High Court. After hearing the matter, the court’s constitutional bench set aside the single-member bench’s decision, allowed Ali Bugti’s application and directed OGDCL to pay the outstanding royalty.