LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday withdrew its demand of Rs129.414 million for purchase of 46 new Honda Civic cars for judges due to the prevailing economic situation of the country.

This newspaper had earlier reported that the LHC Registrar Office had sought chief minister’s approval for the provision of supplementary grant for the procurement of 46 new Honda Civic (1800cc) Oriel CVT cars for as many judges in the LHC.

The Registrar Office had quoted a manufacturer’s price (ex-factory rate) of a car at Rs2.728 million, saying the total cost of 46 new cars had been calculated as Rs125.488 million. It had also calculated that the cars’ registration charges would be Rs3.926 million, which means a total cost of Rs129.414 million.

The LHC Registrar Office had requested the chief minister for approval, in principle, of the provision of supplementary grant of Rs129.414 million during the current financial year (2018-19) for purchase of 46 Honda Civic (1800cc) Oriel CVT cars.

Following publication of the news and consequent uproar on social media, the Registrar Office withdrew the request

stating that “due to prevailing economic situation of the country, the authority has desired to forgo the request, immediately”.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2018