LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan on Thursday rejected a reply by the Punjab government to a petition questioning lay-offs in industrial sector during the lockdown, calling it unsatisfactory.

He observed that the government’s reply was incomplete and lacked basic information. He directed a law officer to submit a detailed reply also containing the steps taken for protection of the low-income citizens and labourers.

CJ Khan also ordered the petitioner to submit a list of the workers of the industrial sector who had lost their jobs due to the lockdown.

Advocate Ishtiaq Ahmad Chaudhry had filed a public interest petition, saying the sudden imposition of the lockdown had caused immense suffering with loss of employment and lack of food. He said the workers had been affected the most as their livelihood had been blocked due to the large-scale lay-offs. He prayed to the court to suspend all terminations, resignations from service received by the employers whether oral or written and salary cuts in the industrial sector. He also urged the court to order the government to ensure a fair distribution of funds allocated for the workers in order to compensate for their losses.

ONLINE CLASSES: Justice Ayesha A Malik of the LHC on Thursday reserved verdict on the maintainability of a petition challenging online classes being conducted by the higher educational institutions during the pandemic lockdown.

Judicial Activism Panel chairman Advocate Azhar Siddique had filed the petition, pleading that the institutions were receiving full fee from the students and imparting them education through online classes. He said the institutions be ordered to charge only 70pc fee from the students if they were to hold online classes during the lockdown.

The petitioner asked the court to direct the government to take strict action against the universities conducting online classes/exams as the same was illegal, being a violation of executive orders regarding closure of educational institutions throughout the country.

After hearing the arguments, the judge reserved the verdict on the competency of the petition.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2020