LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on Wednesday sought assistance of attorney general of Pakistan (AG) on a petition challenging the recovery of TV fee in electricity bills and exhibition of indecent advertisements, dramas and entertainments programmes on television channels. The judge directed the attorney general to appear on September 20 to explain the government’s point of view. The Chief Justice remarked that the constitution must be interpreted in accordance with the changing needs of the time and when there was no fee levied on other electronic gadgets, it was not justifiable to levy TV fees either. Earlier, the Chief Justice on June 23 had directed the federal government to specify the law under which they were receiving TV fee in electricity bills. On behalf of the government a reply was submitted that under the Wireless Act of 1933 the government was receiving the fee through electricity bills. There was no illegality in charging of the TV fee and this petition was misconceived. The petitioner counsel replied that the government could not justify this fee as under the same law it was not charging a fee on laptops, tablets or mobile phones. He requested that directions be issued to declare the TV fee null and void. The Chief Justice sought assistance of the AG, saying that in these modern times such anachronistic and outdated laws have been implemented as excuses to extract fees from the masses. Pakistan Tehrek-e-Insaf and opposition leader in Punjab assembly Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed moved this petition. Petitioner counsel Sheraz Zaka submitted that the levy of monthly TV fee in electricity bills was exorbitant and imposed great hardship on citizens, whereas the majority of the citizens could no longer obtain the services of the state run television channel. He said that it was a forced charge and as such a violation of the constitution. He submitted that the state channel was being used for no other useful purpose except to churn out the government’s propaganda, and thus citizens were not interested in watching it. He also said that that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) had failed to perform its statutory obligation and failed to enforce the Indecent Advertisement Prohibition Act 1963. He asserted that it had resulted in polluting the minds of the youth. He requested that TV fees be removed from the electricity bills and PEMRA be ordered to take punitive measures against cable operators for violating the code of conduct.