Plea against Local Govt Act referred to CJ

Lahore High Court Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza has sent to Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti for being marked to another judge a former mayor's plea challenging the Punjab Local Government Act 2022.

The petitioner sought the declaration of the act ultra vires of different articles of the Constitution.

The petitioner, Mubasher Javed, requested the court to pass direction to the Election Commission of Pakistan to conduct the local government elections in line with the old law (Punjab Local Government Act 2013).

He contended that the petition had been filed in public interest to protect the fundamental rights of citizens and democratic values.

The petitioner alleged that the respondents, including the Punjab chief secretary, secretary for local government and community development, principal secretaries to the chief minister and governor and the Election Commission of Pakistan through its secretary had changed the whole political system of the local government by first promulgating the Punjab Local Government Act 2019 and then consecutively introducing the acts of 2021 and 2022.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2023.