LHC Multan Bench restored

MULTAN: Considering the problems of litigants, Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah has restored the Multan Bench of Lahore High Court (LHC).

According to the orders, the Multan Bench will start entertaining cases from Thursday (today), while the judges are scheduled to resume hearings there as per the existing and already approved roster from Monday (July 31).

On the other hand, a five-member LHC larger bench on Wednesday issued show-cause notices to High Court Bar Association Multan president Sher Zaman and another lawyer, Qaisar Abbas, for committing contempt of court by misbehaving with a judge, interfering and obstructing dispensation of justice on the premises of the LHC Multan Bench.

The bench, headed by the chief justice and comprising Justice Muhammad Anwaarul Haq, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti and Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza, observed the action of the advocates was aimed at vandalising the court and bringing it into hatred and ridicule. the court and bringing it into hatred and ridicule.

The bench issued a notice under the High Court Rules and Orders to both the lawyers for suspension or removal of their practicing licences. The bench directed the lawyers to appear in person on July 31.

In an incident that took place on July 24, both the lawyers along with others had initially misbehaved with Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan and obstructed judicial proceedings of his court in Multan Bench and afterwards vandalised and ransacked the court premises and ripped off the name plate of the judge. After the incident, the chief justice had withdrawn all judges working at the Multan Bench and posted them at Principal Seat, Lahore.

The chief justice had also formed a committee comprising Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali and Justice Ali Akbar Qureshi to provide an opportunity to the bar to resolve the matter. However, no one from the bar approached the committee. Later, the five-member larger bench was constituted to proceed against the delinquent advocates under the law of contempt and High Court Rules and Orders for suspension and/or removal of their practice of the LHC. It is pertinent to mention that the Punjab Bar Association had decided to observe a strike today (Thursday) to protest against shifting of LHC Multan bench to Lahore.

Meanwhile, the Multan Bench lawyers observed a complete strike on Wednesday and announced organising a convention today (Thursday) against alleged humiliation of lawyers, after a meeting held at Multan District Bar hall approved the move.

Talking to The News, Multan High Court Bar Association president Sher Zaman Qureshi said they had decided not to appear before the LHC judges and all courts in the nine districts in Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Sahiwal divisions. “Lawyers would not attend courts where they are not respected,” he said.

The row between Justice Qasim Khan and lawyers developed on last Monday when the judge was hearing a case of a mosque built on the state land. “Lawyers have submitted their respective power of attorney in the mosque case. One of my colleagues was presenting his arguments in the case when the judge asked me to move aside and avoid making the courtroom crowded,” he said.

The judge threw the case file and used inappropriate language when the lawyers informed the judge about their power of attorney in the case, he claimed. Qureshi said lawyers were disappointed over the judge’s behaviour and broke his nameplate in protest.