KP Bar Council to take action against protesting lawyers, PHC told

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council on Monday informed the Peshawar High Court (PHC) that in compliance with the court’s direction, the council had decided to take action against the lawyers who played an active role in protest against the judiciary.

Vice-Chairman KP Bar Council Tariq Afridi and Executive Committee Chairman Muhammad Ijaz Sabi appeared in the court in the suo moto notice taken by the PHC against the lawyers who protested against the judiciary.

A single bench of Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel heard the case. To the court’s question, the office-bearers of the KP Bar Council said that the council as per the court’s direction had decided to take action against the lawyers who played an active role in the protest against the judges.

They said that a meeting of the disciplinary committee had been convened for June 18. During the course of hearing, the chief justice asked the council’s representatives what action had been taken against the protesting lawyers, whose videos were provided to them through the PHC registrar.

The PHC in its notice had pointed out 71 lawyers who were active in the protest and who pulled down the plaques of the Peshawar High Court chief justice and Peshawar district and sessions judge from outside their courtrooms.

The lawyers staged a demonstration and boycotted courts proceedings on April 27, 2016 after Judicial Magistrate Asif Khan convicted a local lawyer, Fakharyab, and awarded him three-month imprisonment.

The lawyer was also fined Rs1,000 for leveling baseless allegations against Civil Judge Tehreema Sabahat and misbehaving with her in the courtroom. During an inquiry, the allegations were found to be incorrect.

The case was later given to the judicial magistrate for the trial of the lawyer under the Contempt of Court Ordinance. The court adjourned the case till July 15, with the direction to KP Bar Council, to submit a progress report before the hearing about action against the lawyers by the disciplinary committee.

Additional Advocate General Qaiser Ali Shah submitted reply of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Advocate General, who is chairman of the KP Bar Council in the PHC in the suo moto case. It is pertinent to mention that senior lawyers and office-bearers of the PHC Bar Association and KP Bar Council held a meeting with the PHC chief justice after the lawyers protested against the judges.

The meeting decided that the lawyers would end court boycott and the PHC would take back its decision about registering a first information report (FIR) against the protesting lawyers. The legal fraternity ended the boycott of courts after a local court suspended
the conviction of the lawyer and ordered his release on bail.However, the PHC took suo moto notice against the protesting lawyers for taking the law into their hands.