LAHORE, May 3: Telephone line rent cannot be raised at will and without justification, Justice Karamat Nazir Bhandari of the Lahore High Court observed on Friday while reserving his order on a writ petition questioning increase in the line rent and call charges.

Petitioner-lawyer MD Tahir said the PTCL had been enhancing the rent and charges on its old network and facilities without improving the quality of its service. It had become the most profitable public corporation by burdening its customers. He said there was no justification for raising charges.

Deputy Attorney-General Yawar Ali Khan said the PTCL was modernizing its network and the maintenance cost had also gone up. It had a right to ensure return on its investment.

Observing that the rent and charges must be reasonable in this age of fast communication and that there must be a justification for any increase, Justice Bhandari reserved his judgment on the petition.

CTBT: Meanwhile, Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmad asked Deputy Attorney-General Sher Zaman Khan and Advocate-General Maqbool Ilahi Malik to submit the federal and provincial governments’ comments on a petition seeking a referendum on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

Advocate MD Tahir maintained in the petition that the treaty had already lapsed in 1999 because it was not ratified by the requisite number of countries. He said the matter was of vital strategic importance and if at all the government wanted to accede to the treaty, it must seek a mandate from the people by holding a referendum on it under the Constitution.

The judge directed that the comments should be submitted within two weeks after which a date would be fixed for further hearing.