LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that the caretaker set-up of local governments being run by the administrators cannot exercise the powers of elected representatives despite suspension of a judgement against a development scheme launched by a deputy commissioner.

“The suspension of a judgement has effect only to the extent of the case. The law or its interpretation, cannot be suspended, being in rem, unless the law is otherwise interpreted and overruled by a bench of higher strength,” Justice Shahid Jamil Khan maintained.

He observed that the principle that law cannot be suspended, unless dec­la­red ultra vires, was already settled by the Supreme Court in a 1989 jud­gement titled “Federation of Pak­is­tan versus Aitzaz Ahsan and others”.

Justice Khan made these observations while dismissing a petition of M/s Hadi Developers Pvt Ltd seeking a direction for the Sargodha TMA administrator to decide its applications for permission to build a private housing scheme.

LHC judge warns violation can lead to legal consequences against delinquents

The judge noted that the LHC had already held in a case titled “M/s Mallik Mazhar Hussain Goraya versus Govt. of Punjab, etc. (PLD 2023 Lahore 257)” that the administrators could deal only with day-to-day affairs. In this case, the petitioner had challenged a tender issued by the administrator/deputy commissioner of Dera Ghazi Khan.

He noted that the request by the petitioner/developer fell under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2022, under a chapter that envisages a procedure to be carried out by the head of local government with other elected office-bearers.

When Justice Khan was informed that the verdict had been suspended by a two-judge bench, he remarked that since the law laid down had not been suspended, it was binding on the administrators and other officials working in and for the caretaker set-up. The law laid down in the suspended judgement was applicable and the caretaker local governments could not exercise powers, meant to be exercised by the elected governments.

Dismissing the petition, the judge concluded that the permission for preliminary planning of a housing scheme, being outside the powers of caretaker local government, could not be granted. “Any violation can lead to legal consequences against the delinquents,” the judge warned.

In the suspended judgement, Justice Khan had set aside the appointment of the administrators in Punjab, all new development projects initiated by them and the allocation of funds to the members of the National and Punjab Assemblies. The judge had ruled that the practice of allocating development funds to ruling and other MNAs and MPAs was not only against the constitutional scheme, but also detrimental to the norms and spirit of democracy itself.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2023