Bikers Can Get Petrol Without Helmets in Lahore Again

Lahore High Court (LHC) has suspended the notification banning the sale of petrol to bikers without helmets.

Justice Raheel Kamran Sheikh heard the petition of citizen Irfan Bashir. The court suspended the ban notification and issued a notice to the federal government and others, seeking their response.

Justice Sheikh questioned the imposition of the ban by a mere notification. He remarked that doing so is a denial of fundamental rights and that the government should legislate this step before imposing it on the public.

The city administration enacted the “no helmet, no petrol” rule last month to encourage bikers to wear helmets. The authorities told the media that the petrol stations will be covertly monitored and that stations that sell petrol to motorcyclists without helmets will face legal action.

The rule was first implemented during the previous government’s tenure to ensure the use of helmets. However, even then, bikers found a way around the ban by borrowing helmets from one another at the fuel station.

The previous government also discontinued the ban due to massive retaliation from the public and petrol stations. As expected, history has repeated itself yet again.