Full court reference for LHC outgoing CJ held

LAHORE:A full court reference was held on Wednesday at the Lahore High Court in the honour of outgoing LHC Chief Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh.

Justice Sheikh was elevated to the LHC on Feb 19, 2010 and he took oath as the 49th chief justice on Jan 1, 2020. He reached superannuation on March 18. The reference was attended by Chief Justice-designate Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan, LHC judges, lawyer leaders, bar representatives and law officers. The outgoing CJ said that the speedy adjudication of the pending cases and delivery of prompt and standard justice had been his priority since assuming the office.

Mamoon Rashid Sheikh said that in a short span of time, he took steps for provision of facilities to lawyers, judges and litigants. He noted that judges were overburdened due to a large number of cases pending with the court. He said that it was not possible to decide cases through traditional methods. He emphasised the need for adopting modern and alternative methods for the purpose.

He said that due to establishment of the alternative dispute resolution centres and model courts, a large number of cases had been decided, adding that such methods should be adopted for ensuring provision of quick and standard justice to the litigants. The outgoing CJ thanked the bar associations for their cooperation, adding that the bar and the bench were two wheels of a vehicle.

He said that lawyers were the backbone of the judicial system and without their cooperation, timely and standard justice could not be delivered to litigants. Chief Justice-designate Muhammad Qasim Khan also spoke at the reference and said the outgoing chief justice took ideal steps for provision of justice in a short span of time.

Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan will take oath as 50th chief justice on Thursday (today) at a ceremony to be held in Governor House. Justice Khan will serve as the chief justice till his superannuation on July 5, 2021.