LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has directed the provincial government to make rules under the Punjab Civil Administration Act 2017 to regulate public meetings, gatherings and rallies.

Justice Raheel Kamran passed the order on a petition challenging the denial of permission to take out religious procession during Ashura.

The reports filed on behalf of the Lahore deputy commissioner/district magistrate and police stated that Article 20 of the Constitution shows that the right to profess, practice and propagate the religion is subject to law, public order and morality.

The report of the DC reflects that the policy on the subject is laid down in section 16(2) of the Civil Administration Act 2017 which empowers the DC to decide the application regarding public meeting, procession, assembly or gathering after seeking reports from the concerned departments.

It also depicts that a report of the law enforcement agencies is a prerequisite of NOC for a public gathering.

The report of the Lahore DIG operations indicates that a fool-proof security was provided in the religious gathering of the petitioner, however, he became a potential danger to public peace.

The report said the petitioner also violated the SOPs in the past and several calls were received by police emergency service.

Justice Kamran observed that section 16 of the Act imposes a restriction upon taking place of public meeting, procession, assembly or gathering without prior permission in writing of the DC.

The procedure in that regard has been provided in sub-section (2) of section 16 according to which on receipt of an application, the DC, in consultation with the head of district police, may grant permission subject to such terms and conditions as he deems fit or reject the application after recording reasons.

However, the judge noted that no timeframe has been prescribed in the section for deciding such an application.

The judge observed that according to section 29 of the Act, the government may make rules for carrying out the purposes of the legislation.

A provincial law officer told the court that till date no such rules have been framed.

The judge dismissed the petition since the event has already taken place when the petitioner approached the court.

However, in order to prevent this practice in future, Justice Kamran directed the government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the Civil Administration Act 2017.

The judge ruled that till the rules are made, any application seeking permission to hold a public gathering shall ordinarily be decided within 30 days from the date of its filing and in case of failure to do so, reasons for the failure must be recorded and communicated to the applicant for effective enforcement of his/her fundamental rights.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2024