Rahim Yar Khan . A single bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) Bahawalpur bench has ruled that the government of Punjab has no legal or otherwise authority to ban movement / transportation of wheat . Judge Abid Hussain Chatha in his ruling took insight of the case and gave a bold decision . He ruled that none of the authorities have any legal or otherwise authority to ban transportation of wheat from Punjab to other parts of the country.
The Punjab has record stocks of wheat and there is no legal reason to block wheat transport to other provinces . But the Punjab authorities have blocked wheat movement / transportation to other provinces without any legal authority . Blockade of wheat by the Punjab government is a typical example of overdoing of the larger province.
The farmers are paying heavy price of the Punjab’s illegal ban on wheat movement as they are not getting reasonable price of their produce . They were badly damaged last year when the federal government on IMF demand walked out of wheat procurement instantly . This sudden walk out of the government from buying wheat had caused irreparable loss to the farmers who had bumper crop last year, but no buyer.
Judge Abid HUSSAIN CHATTHA in his judgement in this case noted that this single Judgment shall decide the titled
as well as connected W. P. Nos. 6432, 6447, 6486, 6903, 6966, 7184 and 7214
of 2025 involving common set of facts and questions of law.
2. Wheat is a major staple and food security crop of Pakistan. Historically,
the policy measures employed by the Government from time to time to
regulate the procurement, pricing, distribution and sale of wheat have led to
multiple disputes amongst the stakeholders including the Government,
growers, flour mill owners, seed producers and persons involved in the supply
chain of wheat and its by-products. The instant controversy between the
Government of the Punjab and owners of wheat stocks emanates from the
policy measures approved by the Government of the Punjab regarding the
wheat harvest season, 2025. Before proceeding further, it is pertinent to
explain the precise factual context in order to determine the moot questions
requiring consideration of this Court.
3. Traditionally, wheat has been a semi regulated sector controlled by the
Government in an endeavor to maintain balance amongst conflicting interests
of various stakeholders. As a norm, the Government used to fix Minimum
Support Price (the “MSP”) to be enforced at the time of wheat harvest season
to ensure that farmers may not be deprived from receiving minimum fair price
of their produce in the wake of possible price crash due to abundant and
surplus supply. Thus, the Government would buy and procure a handsome
quantity of wheat at the MSP fixed by it in competition with the private sector
to build a strategic reserve of wheat stock which was subsequently released
and sold to private flour mills as per their grinding capacity quotas at intervals
on fixed prices till the arrival of next crop. The sale price of wheat was fixed
by the Government a little above the MSP after counting in the costs of
transportation, storage and financing. The primary policy aim has been to
ensure an adequate supply of wheat in the market to ensure price stability so
that wheat and its by-products, particularly, roti is available to the masses at
an affordable rate.
4. Lately, the Provincial Cabinet of the Punjab duly approved the Wheat
Procurement Policy, 2024-2025 (the “Wheat Policy”) circulated vide letter
dated 16.04.2024 which not only explicitly fixed MSP of wheat at Rs. 3,900 / 40 Kg for the wheat harvest season, 2024 but also encouraged private buying as per Clause XXI thereof, stipulating that private purchase, transportation and storage of wheat will be allowed subject to declaration of wheat stocks with District Administration / DFC or on FLMIS for record purpose.
Nevertheless, negligible quantity of wheat was procured by the Government
of the Punjab during the wheat harvest season, 2024 under the Wheat Policy
as the Government of the Punjab held adequate carryover stocks of wheat.
Consequently, the private sector purchased most of wheat from the growers
and the market primarily functioned based on the principles of free market
economy of demand and supply but subject to Government control.
5. Importantly, during the current wheat harvest season, 2025, the
Government of the Punjab publicly announced a policy shift towards
deregulation of wheat by adopting a free-market approach and did not
announce any MSP of wheat, thereby, allowing the private sector to procure,
store, distribute and sell wheat with no restrictions on inter-district or inter-
provincial movement of wheat in order to relieve logistical and fiscal burden
upon the Government Exchequer. The policy measures were approved by the
Cabinet of the Punjab and notified vide Notification No. SO(F-1)3-1/2025-26
dated 22.04.2025 (the “Policy Notification”) overriding and preempting the Wheat Policy.
6. Consequently, the Government of the Punjab did not procure wheat
during the harvest season, 2025 and the private sector involved in the supply
chain of wheat without any discrimination was allowed to procure, store,
supply and sell wheat pursuant to the Policy Notification subject to declaration of stocks intended to provide accurate information to the Government regarding availability of stock to ensure supply chain transparency. Due to surplus supply, the market crashed during the wheat harvest season, 2025 to a price ranging from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 2,300 / 40kg. The available stock was purchased by the private sector at distressed price and many persons including the cultivators were compelled to store wheat in the hope of selling it later as and when the market stabilizes and achieves a reasonable price.
7. Nevertheless, the Director General (Food) / Cane Commissioner issued
Notification No. ADF-1(Wheat Policy)/2025 dated 04.09.2025 (the
“impugned Notification”) in exercise of powers conferred under Section 5(2)
of the Punjab Price Control of Essential Commodities Act, 2024 (the “Price Control Act”), thereby, fixing maximum retail price of wheat as Rs. 3,000 /
40 Kg with immediate effect and to remain in force until withdrawn or altered for the Province of the Punjab. It directs that no dealer, wholesale dealer, retail dealer or retailer shall charge or cause to be charged, the maximum retail price of wheat offered for sale in excess of the rate fixed and notified.
8. The impugned Notification was issued at a time when statedly the price
of wheat in the private sector ranged approximately between Rs. 3,500 to
3,800 / 40 Kg at different locations in the Province of the Punjab. It is alleged that under the garb of the impugned Notification, the Government and its functionaries resorted to multiple coercive measures against the holders of wheat stocks in the Province of the Punjab in an attempt to confiscate stocks and compel the owners to sell it to private flour mills at the fixed price so that the prices of flour and roti can be maintained at the rates deemed appropriate to the Government.
9. The Petitioners claiming themselves as cultivators, registered seed
purchasers, traders and food grains license holders invoked the constitutional
jurisdiction of this Court under Article 199 of the Constitution of the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan, 1973 (the “Constitution”) by contending that they are
in lawful possession of declared wheat stocks in different quantities identified in their respective Petitions which constitutes their hard-earned moveable property. They held their wheat stocks relying upon the Wheat Policy and the Policy Notification so that they can sell their stocks at a reasonable price not less than MSP of wheat announced for the previous harvest season, 2024
which was itself approved by the Cabinet of the Punjab, as such, cannot be forced to sell their stocks at an arbitrary and unreasonable price.
10. Notices were issued to the Respondents with the direction to submit
report and para-wise comments. Interim protection was extended to the
Petitioners against coercive measures being employed against them. Notices
were also issued to the Attorney General of Pakistan and the Advocate
General, Punjab under Order XXVII-A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 Government has a lawful and legitimate right and power to provide subsidy
to oppressed and less privileged classes but such subsidy must be provided by
the Government from its own Exchequer. The Government cannot deprive
one class of persons from receiving lawful and due compensation of its
property in order to provide subsidy to the citizens. Therefore, if the
Government intends to provide wheat, flour and roti at a price less than the
prevailing market price, the price differential must be borne by the
Government and the same cannot be realized by indirect compulsory sale of
private wheat stocks without payment of due compensation at competitive
market rates.
39. In view of the above, the titled and connected Petitions are allowed; the
impugned Notification is set aside; and it is declared that during the
subsistence and continuation of deregulation plan pursuant to the Policy
Notification, the Government of the Punjab and / or its functionaries have no
lawful authority to fix the maximum retail price of wheat; the Government of
the Punjab is only entitled to purchase wheat through an open competitive
bidding under the Punjab Procurement Rules; and the owners of declared
wheat stocks shall remain protected against anti-hoarding actions.
