LAHORE: A Lahore High Court single bench on Wednesday requested the chief justice to form a larger bench to decide a set of petitions filed by vegetable/vanaspati ghee manufacturers, challenging powers of the federal government to fix price and the vires of Price Control & Prevention of Profiteering and Hoarding Act, 1977.

Dozens of petitions poured in the high court after director general of Industries, Prices, Weights & Measures had on Nov 9, 2019 issued impugned notification under section 6 of the Price Control and Prevention of Profiteering and Hoarding Act, 1977.

The petitions were pending adjudication before two different judges as one restrained the government from taking coercive measures against the ghee manufacturing companies, while the other suspended the impugned nitrification.

On Wednesday, Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, hearing several identical petitions, observed that the legal points involved in the matter needed to be heard and decided by a larger bench.

The judge referred the petitions to the chief justice with a request to constitute a larger bench to further proceed with the matter.

The mills through their counsel argued that the impugned Act was ultra vires the Constitution as it was enacted by the parliament without legislative competence.

They said the Act also violated Article 9 and 10-A of the Constitution.

The petitioners said the government was forcing them to sell their product at a price not more than Rs180 per kg infringing their fundamental right to life protected under Article 3 of the Constitution.

They said the petitioners had the right to do lawful trade and they fixed price of the product due to the free market economy with open competition.

The petitioners argued that the impugned notification was based on ulterior motives and devoid of any justifiable reasons as the provincial government had no authority to fix price of the product.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2019