Amendments to Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act challenged

PESHAWAR: The recent amendments to the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act, 1973 were challenged in the Peshawar High Court on Saturday.

According to the amendments, the eligibility requirement for contesting bar council elections has been increased from 10 years of experience to 15 years.

A writ petition filed by Advocate Saifullah Mohib Kakakhel has prayed the court that the discriminatory amendments to the bar council election rules be declared null and void.

The petition states that the respondents have recently amended the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act, 1973, increasing the minimum experience required for lawyers to contest elections from 10 to 15 years.

It argues that the amendments are undemocratic and discriminatory, as it would limit the representation of many lawyers in the bar council. It would particularly exclude young lawyers, women, persons with disabilities, lawyers from merged districts, and minorities from participating.

These groups, the petition pleaded, also deserved the opportunity to be part of the system and introduce necessary reforms.

According to Saifullah Mohib, the amendments were implemented without consultation and gave the impression of inequality and discrimination within the legal profession. He also called for the reinstatement of the previous 10-year eligibility condition and the allocation of representation quotas for marginalised groups.

The petitioner said that this legal action aimed at ensuring that bar councils remained democratic, inclusive, and accessible to all, especially to those lawyers who were actively working to protect the rights of the weak and underprivileged.