Punjab Governor’s House: All will be in jail if single brick removed, says LHC

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday stopped the demolition of the boundary wall of Punjab Governor’s House and warned that not a single brick should be removed from its place, otherwise everyone will be behind the bars.

Justice Mamoonur Rasheed Sheikh issued the stay order after hearing the petition moved by a lawyer challenging the government's decision to demolish the outer wall of the Governor’s House in the light of the instructions by Prime Minister Imran Khan. As the hearing commenced, the petitioner’s counsel, Ahsan Naveed Farooqi, argued saying the prime minister had ordered the demolition of the Governor’s House boundary wall to make the colonial-era building visible to the general public. He said a day after the prime minister’s order, the government, in a hasty move, started demolishing the boundary wall on Sunday. He argued that the action was in gross violation of the various sections of the Punjab Special Premises (Preservation), Ordinance, 1985 and the Antiquities Act, 1975.

He said in accordance with the previous orders of the Supreme Court, it is mandatory for the government to issue advertisements in newspapers before undertaking projects like this. He said permission was also not sought from the cabinet to tear down its boundary as it would waste the taxpayers’ money. The counsel pleaded that the Governor House had a cultural, architectural and historic significance and thereby protected under Section 10 of the National Antiquities Act 1975 and Section 5 of the Punjab Special Premises (Preservation) Ordinance 1985 respectively. He contended that the laws strictly prohibited the destruction of the special premises. Advocate Farooqi said that alternate security measures were not adopted by the government while tearing down the wall as the VIP monument will be exposed to risk after installing an iron fence. The counsel asked the court to restrain the government from removing the wall, being an unlawful act. He also requested the court to order legal action against those who instructed the demolition and involved in bulldozing the wall.

Justice Sheikh observed that he had been seeing the wall of the Governor’s House since his childhood and asked under whose authority the facility falls. A provincial law officer told the court that the boundary wall did not fall within the definition of the protected premises. However, the judge restrained the government from carrying out the demolition and sought detailed replies from the federal and provincial governments on the legal questions raised in the petition. "If anything is done against the court orders, no one will be spared," the judge warned.