LAHORE The Lahore High Court on Tuesday sought replies from Punjab chief secretary, inspector general of police and Lahore district coordination officer on a petition seeking contempt of court proceedings for not implementing ban on protest rallies on Mall Road. The Petitioner, Mall Road Traders Association President Naeem Mir, submitted through his counsel that recently nurses held protests on Mall Road and violated the ban imposed by provincial government. The petitioner pleaded that the LHC had also directed the government to strictly implement the ban on road and take action against the violators. He argued that traders faced huge financial loss during the days when nurses held protests on Mall Road and the authorities took no action against them He prayed to the court that the respondents be prosecuted under contempt of court charges. Chief justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, during the course of hearing, remarked that holding protest was a democratic right of every citizen across the world which could not be usurped. However, in many other countries such protests were held on week holidays to void loss to business community. The court directed the petitioner to also include media as necessary party in the contempt petition. The court will resume hearing on January 23, 2012. Meanwhile, Lahore High Court Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan on Tuesday sought detail reply from federal government and OGRA on a writ petition seeking to declare null and void the allotment of quota for LNG (liquefied natural gas) awarded by authorities concerned to their favorite private companies. The petitioner Barrister Javed Iqbal Jafree submitted the Ogra (oil & gas regulatory authority) awarded LNG quotas to two private companies without inviting open tender. He stated federal government also leased out its precious land to these two companies on throw away prices. Jafree alleged that the government was now busy in purchasing LNG from these companies on price much higher to market price which would cause Rs500 billion loss to national exchequer during the next five years. The Petitioner requested the court to set aside the LNG quotas awarded by Ogra to the respondent companies being illegal and without lawful authority. The court will resume the hearing on Dec 19.