LAHORE  - The Lahore High Court issued a stay order against the Law Graduate Assessment Test that was scheduled for today in Punjab as the Higher Education Department could not set up its examination centres in Multan and Bahawalpur.

Petitioner Mahreen Fatima, a law graduate from Bahawalpur,  was represented by Advocate Ch Aftab Mubarak in the court.

The court was told that the petitioner being a permanent resident of Bahawalpur Division applied for the Law-GAT like so many other law graduates from the same region for the test being held on July 28.

Nevertheless, the counsel pleaded, the commission did not set up its centres for the examination in Bahawalpur Division to facilitate the candidates. He said the petitioner and other candidates had to face the hardship by travelling to Lahore to take part in the examination. He pleaded that previously all the examinations for enrolment as an advocate had been held in Bahawalpur. He argued that there was no legal bar to set up examination centre in Bahawalpur.

The counsel asked the court to order the respondent to set up an examination centre in Bahawalpur for the Law-Gat to facilitate the candidates of Bahawalpur Division.

A counsel representing the HEC said that centres could not be set up at Multan and Bahawalpur while he remained failed to provide any legal justification.

The court remarked that the non-constitution of the centres at least the LHC benches level was not only a discrimination with the applicants of the areas but also amounted to depriving candidates of their fundamental rights.

In the order the court restrained the respondents from holding the examination in all over the Punjab and sought replies from the required the respondents including Punjab Bar Council by August 7.