LHC jails, fines lawyer for misconduct

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday handed down six months imprisonment to a lawyer for misbehaving with a judge.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 100,000 on the lawyer, Zahid Mahmood Goraya. LHC Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan announced the decision after the charge of contempt of court was proved against Goraya. The chief justice conducted proceedings for more than three and a half hours on a reference and recorded evidence from three witnesses, with Syed Farhad Ali Shah serving as the prosecutor. The lawyer requested time and again to adjourn proceedings till after Eid holidays, besides tendering an unconditional apology. Lahore High Court Bar Association President Asad Manzoor Butt also requested the LHC CJ to pardon the lawyer, adding that they would pay a visit to Justice Sultan Tanvir Ahmad and seek an apology.

However, the chief justice observed that he had taken an oath under the Constitution. After the announcement of the decision, police took the lawyer into the custody. Justice Sultan Tanvir Ahmad had forwarded the reference to the chief justice for taking action against the lawyer on charges of committing misconduct in his court. In the previous hearing, the chief justice had indicted the lawyer and directed presenting the witnesses on April 8.