LHC seeks reply over PA session in hotel

Governor asked speaker to choose safe place due to Covid

LAHORE:

Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan has sought a reply from the provincial government on a petition challenging a notification under which the recent Punjab Assembly session was summoned in a hotel.

As the proceedings commenced on Thursday, the CJ made clear to the petitioner, Anjum Hameed, “I will dispose of this petition by imposing a fine of Rs.500,000 if you cannot establish the legal point relating to the delegation of governor’s powers.”

The petitioner had cited the provincial government and Punjab Assembly speaker among the respondents.

The CJ asked what the rules of business stated about summoning the assembly session. No specific venue had been mentioned in the rules of business, the petitioner’s counsel replied.

It is the discretionary power of the governor to decide where the assembly session would be held, the counsel stated.

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The counsel argued that summoning a session in a private hotel was not in line with patriotism. “You are leveling allegation over the loyalty of the members of provincial assembly,” the CJ remarked.

“Do you have the law which could establish that PA’s session could not be held in this or that place?” CJ Khan asked.

He remarked that petitions should not be filed merely to seek media attention.

The petitioner’s counsel contended that summoning the session in a hotel despite the existence of state building was tantamount to wasting tax money.

Following the rapid spread of Covid-19, the governor of Punjab had allowed the speaker to summon the house at an appropriate and safe place, the law officer informed the court.

“Can governor Punjab transfer his powers to others?” CJ Qasim Khan asked. It might be possible that the speaker summoned the session at his own house and some members avoided visiting his house, he remarked.

The petitioner had contended that Prime Minister Imran Khan had been making claims of simplicity, while the provincial assembly session was summoned in a hotel. She submitted that the Punjab Assembly building had been constructed for the house proceedings.

The PA session started on June 5 at the hotel. The petitioner contended that tax collected from the public could not be spent on local hotels for the purpose of summoning PA session or provision of facilities to the members.

She prayed to the court to summon all details of expenses on the assembly session convened in the hotel.

She also prayed that order be issued to the authorities concerned to deposit in the national exchequer the amount spent on the session held in the hotel.

Regarding some reports that Rs1.2 million was being spent each day on the session, Punjab Assembly Secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti clarified that the hotel was charging Rs225,000 per day, which, he claimed, was the cheapest rate.

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No charges would be paid for off days during the session. The official said the opposition was on board over the decision to summon the session in a hotel.

The court was informed that some sessions had already been summoned in the Punjab Assembly building, wherein only selected MPAs from both treasury and opposition benches had participated as the agenda items did not require any voting on government businesses.

The budget session was held in the hotel because voting was required to get passed the government businesses and no one could be deprived of attending the session.

Talking to The Express Tribune, PML-N’s MPA Samiullah Khan said the party would submit its proposal for the next session, which should be summoned in the assembly building for routine business which did not require voting. Selected MPAs should be called to attend the proceedings, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2020.