LHC suspends sentence of Jaranwala lawyer

LAHORE: A Lahore High Court division bench on Wednesday suspended the sentence of a Jaranwala lawyer convicted of injuring a civil judge by hitting him with a wooden chair and released him on bail. The bench headed by Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi directed the lawyer to submit two surety bonds of Rs 200,000 each before the trial court. An anti-terrorism court of Faisalabad had awarded a collective imprisonment of 18 years to Advocate Imran Manj under Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 and other sections of the Pakistan Penal Code. The lawyer had attacked Civil Judge Khalid Mahmood for not extending him favour in a personal criminal case. The injured judge was shifted to hospital for treatment. Advocate Burhan Moazam Malik represented the appeal and argued that fundamentals of justice had been seriously compromised by the trial court while handing down the impugned punishment. He said the conviction was beyond the facts of the incident. He urged the bench to suspend the conviction of the lawyer till a decision on the appeal. The legal fraternity in Punjab had been protesting against the conviction of their colleague.