Sole non-Muslim LHC judge to be removed from bench
Jamshed Rehmatullah was the first ever Christian judge to serve on the LHC bench
Lahore High Court. PHOTO: LHC.GOV.PK
LAHORE:
The only non-Muslim member serving on the 53-member bench of the Lahore High Court is set to be removed from the bench on the recommendation of the judicial commission for appointment of judges.
With the removal of Justice James Joseph, the bench will now consist of Muslim judges only, 50 of whom will be men and three women.
On March 2, the judicial commission had recommended that Justice Joseph and Justice Zafar Khan Khakwani be removed from the bench. The commission had confirmed the appointment of Justices Faisal Zaman Khan, Shahid Jamil Khan, Sayed Shehbaz Ali Rizvi and Shams Mahmood Mirza.
Justice James Joseph, a Christian by faith, and the other judges had been appointed as additional judges of the LHC on March 22, 2014.
Former LHC chief justice Umar Atta Bandial had recommended Joseph, a Multan resident, for the LHC bench.
Though a notification is yet to be issued in this regard from the office of the president of Pakistan, the names of Joseph and Khakwani have been removed from the LHC’s official website.
Jamshed Rehmatullah was the first ever Christian judge to serve on the LHC bench. He had been appointed to the bench in March 2009. He had been relieved of his duties five months later on a Supreme Court directive cancelling appointments made under the Provincial Constitutional Order (PCO).
Acquiring private land
Last week, Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan of the Lahore High Court gave the Faisalabad district government till March 10 to submit evidence in support of its claim that a building it had demolished on Faisalabad-Jhang Road was built on state-owned land.
He was hearing Faisalabad resident Abdul Hafeez’s petition against the demolition of the building. Hafeez had said that the building was his property, adding that demolition was carried out despite a restraining order on the matter. He said the demolition had been ordered by a former DCO to widen the road.
Justice Khan observed that a private building could be demolished only after it had been acquired and compensation paid for the purpose in accordance with the law.
He said it appeared that the provincial government was depriving the citizens of their constitutionally guaranteed rights to private property in acquiring land for its various infrastructure projects. “The government is not treating citizens well,” he said. The judge said that any government official found violating the restraining order in the matter would be sent to the jail.
Addressing the additional advocate general, the judge condemned the government for snatching private properties in violation of court orders. “Do you realise what the government is doing? The city has been ruined,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 7th, 2016.
The only non-Muslim member serving on the 53-member bench of the Lahore High Court is set to be removed from the bench on the recommendation of the judicial commission for appointment of judges.
With the removal of Justice James Joseph, the bench will now consist of Muslim judges only, 50 of whom will be men and three women.
On March 2, the judicial commission had recommended that Justice Joseph and Justice Zafar Khan Khakwani be removed from the bench. The commission had confirmed the appointment of Justices Faisal Zaman Khan, Shahid Jamil Khan, Sayed Shehbaz Ali Rizvi and Shams Mahmood Mirza.
Justice James Joseph, a Christian by faith, and the other judges had been appointed as additional judges of the LHC on March 22, 2014.
Former LHC chief justice Umar Atta Bandial had recommended Joseph, a Multan resident, for the LHC bench.
Though a notification is yet to be issued in this regard from the office of the president of Pakistan, the names of Joseph and Khakwani have been removed from the LHC’s official website.
Jamshed Rehmatullah was the first ever Christian judge to serve on the LHC bench. He had been appointed to the bench in March 2009. He had been relieved of his duties five months later on a Supreme Court directive cancelling appointments made under the Provincial Constitutional Order (PCO).
Acquiring private land
Last week, Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan of the Lahore High Court gave the Faisalabad district government till March 10 to submit evidence in support of its claim that a building it had demolished on Faisalabad-Jhang Road was built on state-owned land.
He was hearing Faisalabad resident Abdul Hafeez’s petition against the demolition of the building. Hafeez had said that the building was his property, adding that demolition was carried out despite a restraining order on the matter. He said the demolition had been ordered by a former DCO to widen the road.
Justice Khan observed that a private building could be demolished only after it had been acquired and compensation paid for the purpose in accordance with the law.
He said it appeared that the provincial government was depriving the citizens of their constitutionally guaranteed rights to private property in acquiring land for its various infrastructure projects. “The government is not treating citizens well,” he said. The judge said that any government official found violating the restraining order in the matter would be sent to the jail.
Addressing the additional advocate general, the judge condemned the government for snatching private properties in violation of court orders. “Do you realise what the government is doing? The city has been ruined,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 7th, 2016.