LHC dismisses petition against 10-day Basant 2027 celebration

LAHORE – The Lahore High Court has dismissed a petition challenging the proposed 10-day celebration of Basant in 2027, declaring it premature, and directed the petitioner to file a fresh petition along with the relevant notification.

Justice Shahram Sarwar Chaudhry heard the petition filed by a citizen, Shahid Islam. During the hearing, the court asked the petitioner’s counsel whether he had any notification confirming the decision to celebrate Basant for 10 days in 2027.

Justice Shahram Sarwar Chaudhry observed that the petition could not be entertained without an official notification, adding that no judicial order could be issued solely on the basis of documents available on a website.

The court further remarked that, in the absence of the relevant notification, it could not be determined how celebrating Basant would constitute a violation of fundamental human rights. It said the notification must first be presented before the government could be asked to respond to the matter.

During the hearing, the court expressed surprise over why the registrar’s office had not raised an objection to the petition. It also questioned the petitioner’s counsel about why a fine should not be imposed on the petitioner.

The petitioner argued that the government had issued a notification regarding the celebration of Basant in 2027 but had failed to establish standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the festival.

The petition further claimed that dozens of people had died during Basant celebrations in 2026 and sought to have the announcement of the 2027 festivities declared null and void.

The petitioner also requested the court to direct the government to reduce the duration of Basant celebrations from 10 days to just one day.

The court dismissed the petition and directed the petitioner to file a fresh plea along with the relevant notification.