ISLAMABAD: The Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench has taken serious notice of prolonged and frequent electricity shutdowns in a private housing society, giving four weeks time to the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) to address the residents’ issue.

Justice Jawad Hassan issued the order while disposing of a constitutional petition filed by the housing society against the Ministry of Water and Power, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), and other respondents.

The petition challenged the repeated power outages carried out under the pretext of ‘maintenance’, which according to the residents had become a routine, depriving them of their fundamental rights.

Represented by Advocate Tahir Jamil Butt, the society argued that electricity is a basic necessity of life and its denial amounts to a violation of Article 9 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life.

He submitted that “life seems impossible without electricity,” and that frequent load shedding not only disrupts household activities but also hampers education, businesses, healthcare, and public safety.

The counsel relied on earlier judgments of the Supreme Court and High Courts, including Engineer Iqbal Zafar Jhagra vs Federation of Pakistan, where electricity was explicitly recognized as a component of the right to life.

Another cited precedent, Haji Mohammad Latif vs GEPCO, declared that denial of electricity was a violation of fundamental rights in the modern technological era.

On behalf of the Federation, Barrister Zain Mansoor, Assistant Attorney General, and provincial law officers objected to the maintainability of the petition. They argued that the matter was already pending before the relevant authority and that the writ petition was therefore premature.

Justice Hassan, however, underscored that load shedding directly impacts the standard of living of citizens. “It disturbs daily life by stopping routine household works, study schedules, and business activities,” the judge noted, adding that hospitals and other essential services particularly become vulnerable during prolonged outages.

He observed that residents are forced to rely on expensive alternatives such as generators and UPS systems, pushing many into financial strain.

The court recalled multiple judgments where Pakistan’s superior judiciary held that electricity is integral to fundamental rights. In Naimatullah Khan Advocate vs Federation of Pakistan (2020 SCMR 622), the Supreme Court clarified that the right to life extends beyond mere existence to ensuring a “meaningful life” that includes access to electricity, water, health, and civic infrastructure.

Justice Hassan also quoted earlier remarks by Justice Umar Ata Bandial (later Chief Justice of Pakistan) in Judicial Activism Panel vs Government of Pakistan, which emphasized that unchecked load shedding requires not only long-term generation solutions but also short-term rationing measures based on fairness and efficiency.

In light of these principles, the court directed that the petition be treated as a formal representation. A copy of the petition and annexures will be forwarded to the Ministry of Energy, which has been ordered to provide a fair hearing to all stakeholders, including the housing society, and issue a reasoned, written decision within four weeks.

“The State bears the sole responsibility to provide basic necessities of life to citizens under Article 38(d) of the Constitution, which includes electricity,” the order stated.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2025