LHCBA, LBA concerned over contempt notice to PBC vice-chairman

LAHORE: General houses of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) and Lahore Bar Association on Monday passed separate resolutions unanimously against contempt notice issued to Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Vice-Chairman Syed Amjad Shah for expressing reservations on recent appointment of judges.

In LHCBA, the senior bar members strongly condemned the contempt notice and demanded withdrawal of the same. Mazhar Ali Ghallu, Zulfiqar Ali Dhodi, Farrukh Ilyas Cheema and Umair Gull jointly moved the resolution terming the contempt notice unconstitutional.

The house also urged Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khan Khosa to take suo motu notice of the matter. The speakers said whole legal fraternity of the country owned remarks of its elected leader, PBC vice-chairman. They said the PBC vice-chairman represented lawyers of the country and his views on the recent appointment of judges were in fact of whole legal fraternity.

They said the bar was the main stakeholder in the process of judges’ appointment and its reports/ objections to the nominees were discussed in the Judicial Commission. They said any statement or remarks on the judges’ appointment could not be treated as contempt of court.

The lawyers said the PBC chief had been targeted for raising voice on behalf of whole fraternity against the murder of merit in the appointment process. The lawyers observed boycott of courts in adherence to a call of the PBC.

PBC member Ahsan Bhoon, Punjab Bar Council vice-chairman Shahnawaz Ismail, LHCBA president Hafeezur Rehman, senior lawyers Manzoor Gillani and Ahsan Wyne were among the prominent who addressed the house. Lahore Bar Association also held general house meeting and passed the resolution tabled by its senior vice-president Ijaz Basra.