Netizens were displeased at the excesses of the Lahore High Court (LHC) after the court’s registrar sought quotations from companies on prices of expensive Apple products to be possibly used by court officials.
Journalist Hasnaat Ahmad posted a copy of the letter in which the LHC Deputy Registrar Procurement Riaz Ahmad invited ‘well-reputed firms’ to submit ‘sealed bids’ of the Apple Macbook Pro 16-inch laptop and Iphone 12-Pro Max or their equivalents to his office.
The letter stated that the firms should be registered with the relevant taxation departments and that the bidding would be conducted in a two-step process in accordance with the Punjab Procurement Rules 2014. Ahmad added that a similar request was made earlier for provision of a 75-inch LED to be used in the LHC Chief Justice House.
Lahore High Court invited sealed bids from well reputed firms for supplying of Laptop Apple MacBook Pro 16 inch or equivalent & mobile phone apple (I-phone 12 pro max or equivalent. Earlier, tender notice was issued for procurement of 75 inches LED for use in LHC CJ House. pic.twitter.com/7tcPN7b5dP
— Hasnaat Malik (@HasnaatMalik) September 24, 2021
Journalist Asad Ali Toor responded to the letter and took a jab at the ‘luxurious tastes’ of high-ups at the LHC, all at the expense of taxpayers in the country. He wondered if it was reasonable to expect that the chief justice would himself embody justice instead of just doing justice.
Must say my lord has a taste.. 75 Inch LED, MacBook Pro and IPhone 12 Pro Max all on taxpayer money, can we also expect from him that “justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done.” https://t.co/usLo5hTSHi
— Asad Ali Toor (@AsadAToor) September 24, 2021
Another user took a critical look at the letter demanding that the bid be deposited with a security that equalled 3% of the total price of the items. He added that if the security itself was Rs. 23,040 then the total burden to taxpayers for the LHC splurge would be approximately Rs768,000.
23,040 being 3% of the estimated value means the estimated value is… 768,000 on tax payer money.
Tell me again why people should pay taxes 🤡 https://t.co/DQTexg6hZQ
— H™ 🇵🇸 (@MahatmaaGanji) September 24, 2021
One user did not object to the use of high-end laptops and mobiles as they would be used for work at the LHC but was not amused by the previous LED purchase.
I don’t mind Judges if the supreme courts getting High end laptops and phones. They are more secure, more robus etc. After all they need them for work. My problem was and is with TV. https://t.co/u2peEktpeE
— Asleep (@mujawed) September 24, 2021
Earlier, a tender was issued by the court to procure a 75-inch LED for Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti. A citizen, Qais M. Hussain responded to the tender in an open letter and questioned whether Justice Bhatti knew the burden his expenditures would place on the common man. Hussain offered to raise the money for the LED instead, which he estimated to be around Rs575,000, according to a 3% security bid of Rs17,500 that was cited in the original tender notice by the LHC registrar.
A tender to buy a 75 inch LED tv for chief justice Lahore High Court for his official residence.
A common citizen of Pakistan wrote an open letter to the honorable Chief Justice of Lahore High Court asking him to cancel the tender. @PIDEpk pic.twitter.com/OM3RuwEK6l— Zulfiqar Ahmed (@ZulfiqarAhmed69) September 22, 2021
