Lawyers ‘proclaim revolt against judiciary’

The bone of contention is the appointment and elevation process of judges, ‘marred by nepotism and lack of merit’

HYDERABAD: The legal fraternity appears to be mustering zeal to revisit the 2007 lawyers’ movement, which they consider a benchmark of their successful struggle for attaining their objective. Being adumbrated by the lawyers’ leaders, this one, however, will pit the bar against the bench - the same, for whose restoration and independence, they took up the cudgels against a uniformed president, Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, and his political successor in the presidency, Asif Ali Zardari.

At the root lies the appointment and elevation process of judges in the Sindh High Court (SHC), which, the bar alleges, is marred by nepotism and a lack of merit. The lawyers are embarking upon a protest campaign with a strike across Sindh in all the courts on July 30. It will be followed by a boycott of the judicial commission’s meeting scheduled for July 31.

The decision was taken at the provincial ‘Lawyers Representatives Conference’, organised by Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) in Hyderabad on Wednesday. “The representatives and participants [of the conference] are shocked that while taking such decisions in the matter of elevation and appointments, a meaningful consultation with the bar, according to the constitutional requirement, has been ignored,” read the resolution passed in the conference.



According to the lawyers, 10 names for appointments as SHC judges have been recommended. They include three district and sessions judges and seven lawyers. Two of them belong to Punjab, including the one who recently enrolled in the Sindh Bar Council (SBC). The judicial commission’s meeting is likely to confirm these names.

“Our movement will not end unless our demands, complaints and grievances are addressed,” declared Abdul Razzak Mehar, the chairperson of the executive committee of the SBC. “Our struggle restored the judiciary and we gave them respect. What [did] we [the lawyers] get [in response]?”

Mehar said that advocate Asif Soomro, who represents the SBC in the judicial commission, will attend the July 31 meeting only to submit the legal community’s objection and will boycott its proceedings.

Advocate Salahuddin Gandapur said it has been demanded that the commission consult the bar in the appointment process under article 175-A of the Constitution. He warned the SBC will not condone the violation of the Constitution.

“We proclaim revolt against this judiciary,” said advocate Haider Imam Rizvi, an SBC member from Karachi, adding that the unrest is not without a reason.”

Another SBC member from Karachi, Amanullah Yousufzai, accused the lawyers’ leaders of failing to fight their case with the judiciary. “The lawyers practising in Punjab can become judges in the higher courts just after two years of work, but it requires over 10 years to their counterparts in Sindh to become eligible,” alleged Yousufzai.

KBA president Naeem Qureshi suggested that instead of a strike, the lawyers should padlock the courtrooms to prevent judges from entering them.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2015.