LAHORE, Sept 15: The fresh notification of the City District Government, extending ban on kite-flying for another two months, was challenged in the Lahore High Court on Monday.

Three private thread manufacturing concerns, which had already challenged the earlier notification expiring on Aug 31, were allowed by the LHC on the last date of hearing to assail the subsequent notification through an amended petition likely to be taken up for hearing on Tuesday.

Petitioners’ counsel S.M. Masood argued in the amended petition that the Home Department was not authorized to extend the ban under Section 144CrPC, as this (section) gave only emergency powers that could last for a week in a month unless the provincial government provided reasons for making the extension beyond such a period.

He said no reasons had been given for the two-month extension, which could not be ordered merely through Section 144 CrPC pertaining to emergency situations only. “The powers given under Section 144 CrPC are judicial in nature and not administrative. These can be struck down even after the expiry of the prescribed period. No general prohibition can be made out of this provision as has happened in the present case,” argued Mr Masood.

The petitioners had challenged the ban, arguing that it was an illegal act on part of both the provincial and the city district governments because this would lead to unemployment of thousands of people. The ban orders were allegedly issued by the respondents in haste and desperation without taking this fact into account that kite and twine manufacturing had attained the status of a regular industry in the last decade.

The ban, according to Mr Masood, could only be imposed in an emergency, but neither the current situation warranted the issuance of such orders nor was the CDG authorized to do so. He alleged that the petitioners were not issued any prior notice by both the governments, which was mandatory under the prevalent laws.

He pleaded lifting of ban on the grounds that such a ban could not be imposed at the expense of those who had adopted the kite manufacturing a regular business activity after spending millions of rupees and those who took kite flying as an entertainment.

Under the ordinance governing the kite-flying and related activities, only the material hazardous to the lives of people could be banned.

The counsel said even to declare that material dangerous or prohibited, the government was supposed to carry out a proper survey, besides issuing an official notification about banning that material, but no such exercise had taken place in this case.