LAHORE, March 14: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of the Lawyers Welfare Front writ petition against the Punjab Kite Flying Ordinance, 2006, particularly its Section 4.

Additional advocate-general Akbar Tarar sought on behalf of the Punjab government more time to submit a report on the number of casualties which had taken place during the period the ban on kite flying was relaxed.

An argument ensued in the court if the writ petition had gone infructuous after the ban stood restored under an order issued by the Punjab chief minister. The AAG pleaded that the petition had lost ground, but counsel Mohammad Azhar gave his view contrary to the government plea.

Advocate Azhar submitted that Section 4 of the ordinance gave the nazim powers which were excessive, indefinite, uncertain and arbitrary in lifting the ban ignoring the legitimate expectation of the public at large. As for the recent lifting of the ban, he submitted that the nazim had issued no notification as required under the ordinance and his act was in violation of the mandatory condition of the law.

The counsel submitted that the ordinance was a bad law as it allowed the lifting of ban on an activity which was otherwise prohibitive. He submitted that an illegal activity could not be allowed even by the author of the law because an illegality could not be legitimised even for the order by the competent authority. No law would condone an unlawful act and as such the whole law suffered from inconsistency which must be struck down, he pleaded.

He contended that the IGP, DIGs and the district and town nazims should be held responsible for the deaths caused by twine during the period the ban was relaxed on March 10. This was the spirit of the Supreme Court order of Feb 26.

He requested the court to issue a direction that criminal cases be registered against the administrative and political officers in the light of the apex court’s orders.

The court will hear the petition on a day to be fixed by the registrar office.