ISLAMABAD:The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday provided a big relief to the Punjab government by giving it the power to fix sugar prices.

A two-member bench, comprising Justice Shahid Kareem and Justice Sultan Tanveer Ahmad, gave the decision. Declaring the federal secretary’s notification null and void, the court in its verdict said that under the 18th Amendment, it was the provincial government that had the authority to fix prices of the commodity.

Sugar mills’ owners had challenged the notification issued by the federal government for the determination of sugar prices. The Lahore High Court’s (LHC) division bench had on Tuesday reserved the decision on different petitions, challenging increase in the prices of sugar by the federal government.

The petitioner’s counsels had argued that the federal government had no power to fix prices of sugar, adding after the 18th amendment, this power has been shifted to the provinces.

Strongly opposing the arguments, the lawyers representing the federation cited judgments of the superior courts in support of their contention that it was the federal government, and not a provincial government, that had the power to fix sugar prices. The petitioners’ lawyers requested the court to set aside the federal government’s notification wherein prices of sugar had been increased. However, the bench after hearing their arguments reserved its decision.