IHC scraps Rs 38 million data center project

Islamabad High Court (IHC) has scrapped Rs 38 million project of "Establishment of Data Center and Archiving Section" initiated to preserve the judicial record, legal documents, judgements and case management. The project was conceived in May 2014 and the full amount has been disbursed under the Access to Justice Programme (AJP) with a private vendor the implementing agency; at the time the project was scrapped Rs 4 million had been spent on advertising tender notices and printing of related material.
According to documents available with Business Recorder, on April 1 and 4, 2016 IHC Committee on Information Technology headed by Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi invited, through tender, "sealed bids for supply and installation of the items for establishment of Data Center at Islamabad High Court";
The project was cancelled a little over a month later in the second week of June as the IHC administration had some reservations over the bank guarantee which led to IHC Chief Justice Kasi deciding to scrap the project, sources in the IHC said. Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi the senior most judge of the IHC expressed his reservations at the scrapping of the project in a letter to the Chief Justice, and suggested that instead of abandoning the project, the matter be placed before an Administrative Committee comprising IHC Chief Justice and two senior judges; he further warned that due to the peremptory closure of the project the donor may refuse to finance the project at a future date.
Justice Qureshi further contended that those executing the project are concerned that subsequent to the surrender of the unused amount of Rs 34 million "it will not be possible for them to explain their position before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)."
Justice Qureshi suggested in the letter that the "important issues, administrative or judicial, are being decided single-handedly and the undersigned, being the Senior Puisne or any other senior judge of this court, has never been taken on board while making such type of vital decisions, as a result, this court is facing financial, judicial as well as administrative problems." Justice Qureshi requested the IHC Chief Justice to review his decision to scrap AJP and convene a meeting of the Administrative Committee as soon as possible to decide the fate of the project.