LAHORE: A Lahore High Court division bench on Thursday suspended a decision of a single bench and restored the power of the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) to issue e-challan on traffic violations.

The single bench had declared the issuance of the e-challan by the authority illegal for having no legal backing. The authority through the Punjab home department filed an intra court appeal (ICA) challenging the order of the single bench.

Hearing the appeal, a two-judge bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi suspended the impugned decision and sought replies from the respondents for a date to be fixed later by the registrar.

The appeal contended that the single bench passed the impugned decision ignoring the independent status of Punjab Safe Cities Act 2016, which introduced the system of electronic ticketing.

It argued that the single bench allowed a petition against the provincial government wherein it had not been even made a party. It further argues that the petitioner before the single bench directly approached the court without availing the remedy available under Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1965.

The appeal asked the court to set aside the decision of the single bench and allow the PSCA to issue e-challans to motorists on violation of traffic rules.

The single bench had observed that the Act of the PSCA did not licence it to issue e-tickets for any traffic violation. It regretted that the government introduced the e-challan system without doing proper homework and providing the required legal framework.

The single bench had directed the chief secretary to bring the legal lapse to the notice of the chief minister who shall take immediate steps to rectify the situation.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2022