LHC reserves verdict on petition for province-wide Basant

Home dept says celebrations allowed only with safety compliance

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday reserved its verdict on a petition seeking permission to celebrate the Basant festival across the province of Punjab.

Justice Malik Muhammad Awais Khalid reserved the decision after hearing arguments from all parties and announced that the verdict would be pronounced on Friday.

The petition was filed by Ashba Kamran, who argued that it was the government's responsibility to formulate a clear and uniform policy for holding Basant celebrations throughout the province.

The petitioner contended that the response submitted by authorities concealed key facts and initially empowered only the Deputy Commissioner of Lahore to permit Basant celebrations, while no clear guidelines were issued for other districts.

The petitioner termed the situation unlawful and urged the court to direct the government to allow Basant celebrations across Punjab in accordance with the law.

During the hearing, the Punjab Home Department submitted a report to the court in compliance with earlier directions.

According to the report, deputy commissioners may allow Basant celebrations on designated days after obtaining approval from the provincial government.

The report stated that ensuring public safety prior to the festival would be the responsibility of the respective deputy commissioners, and strict implementation of safety measures prescribed under the law would be ensured.