Government notifications in the time of COVID-19.

Byline: Daraab Wali Furqan

Our provincial governments love their notifications, especially in these grave COVID-hit times. These governments have been dishing out notifications like our Pakistani game show hosts do in Ramzan. Just like these hosts, our provincial governments give away notifications to keep us - the spectators - happy.

Recent focus has been on the Punjab government's 'well-intended' working-class friendly notification issued on April 10, 2020. Although this notification has been withdrawn recently, but the discussion that follows is still relevant. It forbids forceful, illegal or without due process eviction of tenants by landlords for non-payment or late payment of rent. This notification was to remain in effect for two months, just like section 144(6) of the Code of Criminal Procedure under which it is issued envisages.

In the simplest terms the notification says no landlord can illegally evict a tenant because these are grave COVID-hit times. Did it close a loophole in the law and now all landlords must legally evict their tenants? So, if we never descended into these grave COVID-hit times a landlord was free to forcefully and illegally chuck out their tenant? No. Punjab has a good tenancy law regime called the Punjab Rented Premises Act 2009, and guess what it forbids: forceful, illegal or without due process eviction of tenants by landlords for non-payment or late payment of rent.

Did we need a notification to tell us what the Punjab Rented Premises Act 2009 already does? No one, even before these grave COVID-hit times, was allowed to throw out their tenant for non-payment of rent without 'seeking eviction' from the Rent Controller. A Rent Controller is a special court which was created by the Act especially to look into matters of eviction and other landlord-tenant disputes.

Many legal pundits have declared the notification illegal. They say that this notification means that for a period of two months no landlord can evict their tenant. According to them, this is illegal because the Act only allows a 30 days grace period to a tenant; and, since an executive notification cannot suspend or amend an act of the legislature (the Punjab Assembly) therefore, the notification is illegal. But, I say hold your horses, the notification is anything but illegal; Mr Additional Chief Secretary was merely repeating what the Act says. Surely you cannot penalise someone from restating the law. The notification changes nothing. It does...