The Lahore High Court on Thursday heard a petition seeking permission to celebrate the Basant festival across Punjab and summoned the special secretary to the chief minister of Punjab to appear in court.

The case questions why the festival has been limited to Lahore instead of being allowed throughout the province.

The hearing was conducted by Malik Muhammad Owais Khalid. During the proceedings, Justice Khalid inquired, “Has the special secretary to the chief minister arrived?”

A law officer responded that the official had not yet appeared but was ready with an answer and had requested a little time to present himself. The assistant advocate general requested the court to grant time for his appearance.

The court subsequently allowed time for the special secretary to appear at 12:30pm.

Selective implementation of law

The petitioner argued that the Punjab government had already enacted a law permitting the celebration of the Basant festival.

According to the petitioner, the legislation applies to the entire province and was not meant for any specific city. However, despite passing the act, the government implemented it only in selected areas.

The petitioner contended that instead of applying the law across Punjab, it was enforced solely in Lahore city.

Discrimination

The petition further claimed that allowing only residents of Lahore to celebrate Basant amounts to discrimination against citizens of other cities in Punjab.

It was argued that limiting the festival to Lahore violates Article 25 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law.

The petitioner requested the court to direct the government to permit Basant celebrations throughout the entire province.

The court is now awaiting the appearance of the special secretary to the chief minister for further clarification on the government’s position.