LAHORE (PPI): Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday dismissed a petition filed for the restoration of the Punjab Assembly declaring it non-maintainable. LHC judge Justice Shahid Kareem heard the petition filed earlier on Monday on an urgent basis by a citizen, Sharafat Ali. The judge threw out the petition declaring it non-maintainable. He also imposed Rs100,000 fine on the petitioner for filing a frivolous plea.
At the outset of the hearing, Justice Kareem inquired of the lawyer who was petitioner Sharafat Ali. His lawyer replied that his client was a resident of Faisalabad. The judge asked him what his interest in the restoration of the Punjab Assembly was. The infuriated judge wondered why such unnecessary petitions were being filed in the court.
“We are dismissing this petition with a Rs100,000 fine,” the judge ordered. The court also rejected the lawyer’s request for revocation of the fine. Earlier, the Lahore High Court fixed a petition seeking restoration of now dissolved Punjab Assembly for hearing on an urgent basis.
The petitioner made the Government of Punjab respondent through the chief secretary. Former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has also been made party to the case. According to the petition, former CM Elahi sent his advice to the governor without fulfilling the legal requirements.
The former chief minister dropped just one liner advising the governor to dissolve the Punjab Assembly. He did not mention any reasons for the dissolution in his advice. His advice was against the constitutional requirements and the court orders, the petition stated. The petitioner pleaded with the court to declare Elahi’s advice for the Punjab Assembly dissolution null and void and restore the house.
LHC dismisses petition seeking Punjab Assembly’s restoration
