LAHORE - The imposition of Section 144 in Punjab has been challenged before the Lahore High Court. A citizen Zahid Malik through his counsel Dr Farooq Hassan has challenged the Section 144 through a miscellaneous application filed in his already pending petition against the proclamation of Governor's Rule in Punjab. The counsel pleaded that the imposition of Section 144 was an illegal and unconstitutional act based on malafide intention. He said the government imposed this section only to sabotage lawyer's long march and sit-in which was democratic and constitutional right of every citizen. The counsel prayed the court to declare the imposition of Section 144 as illegal and unlawful. Against "Governor's Rule" the petitioner took plea that the proclamation order was based on no material as mandated by the constitution because the order only relies on the sole ground of the Supreme Court orders pronounced earlier on that day by which the chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif was disqualified from the assembly's membership. He said this was not a valid ground for invoking emergency power of the constitution. He prayed the court to declare that Governor's Rule is mere colourable exercise of the authority without lawful effect void and hence utterly not contemplated by the constitution that does not allow the use of emergency provisions for sole political benefit of the president. LHC reserves verdict in Saba Sadiq's case Justice Umar Ata Bandial of the Lahore High Court has reserved verdict in a petition seeking directions for the speaker Punjab Assembly to forward a reference to the election commission for the disqualification of MPA Saba Sadiq for defecting from her party. On Wednesday, Ahmad Awais, counsel for respondent Saba Sadiq concluded his arguments after that the court reserved its verdict. Counsels for the petitioner and speaker had already been concluded their arguments. The petition was filed by leader of opposition in Punjab assembly Ch Zaheer-ud-Din, also PML-Q secretary general seeking directions for the speaker to refer a reference to the election commission for the disqualification of Saba Sadiq for defecting from her party. The petitioner approached the court after the speaker PA declined to send disqualification reference against PML-Q MPA Saba Sadiq's to the election commission. He had also submitted that the speaker was bound to send such a reference to the election commission, which had to decide it after holding judicial proceedings. He said the speaker had to forward the reference to the election commission, as he had no authority to decide the legality or merit of the reference. Earlier Justice Umar Ata Bandial had disposed of the same petition while directing the petitioner to file reference again before the speaker after removing the objection for which the same was not forwarded to the election commission. Later the petitioner filed a fresh petition submitting that in the light of court's earlier directions the reference against MPA Saba Sadiq was filed before the speaker but the same was forwarded to the election commission.