‘Jurisdiction of principal seat is province-wide’

Attorney general and advocate general agree with SCBA president’s views on jurisdiction of LHC benches

LAHORE: A larger bench of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday held its first hearing on the question of jurisdiction of its principal seat and three regional benches at Rawalpindi, Multan and Bahawalpur.

Assisting the bench as amicus curie, Supreme Court Bar Association president Barrister Ali Zafar submitted that the three permanent benches of the high court had been established under Article 198 (Seat of the High Court) of the Constitution. In spite of the presence of these benches, there was no bar on citizens on directly approaching the principal seat of the court with their petitions. He also referred to a Supreme Court verdict from 1995 ruling that citizens residing in the territorial jurisdiction of the LHC regional benches could file a case directly before the court’s principal seat as per their convenience.

Attorney General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf and Advocate General Punjab Shakilur Rehman Khan, also assisting the bench, supported the SCBA president’s opinion on the matter.

Former SCBA president Hamid Khan sought time from the bench to extend his assistance on the question.

The hearing was adjourned till August 1.

The seven-member larger bench is headed by Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah. Justice Sardar Shamim Ahmad, Justice Anwarul Haq, Justice Ayesha A Malik, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Shahid Karim and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin are its other members.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2016.