LHC museum finally opens its doors

LAHORE: History is actually in the making. Showcasing historical records, landmark judgments, momentous pictures and other items, the long-awaited Lahore High Court museum finally opened its doors on Saturday.

LHC Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah inaugurated the court museum and unveiled a commemorative postage stamp issued for the sesquicentennial celebrations of the high court, which was established in 1866 as the Chief Court of the Punjab.

A graceful inaugural ceremony was held on the main lawn of the court, where Senior Puisne Judge Shahid Hameed Dar among other judges, Supreme Court Bar Association President Syed Ali Zafar, federal and provincial law officers and a large number of lawyers and civil society representatives were present.

Addressing the audience, the CJ Shah said the sesquicentennial celebrations were not only for the judges of the LHC but also for lawyers, district judiciary, judicial staff and the litigants.

The top judge was all praise for Justice Anwaarul Haq, Justice Farrukh Irfan Khan, Justice Shahbaz Ali and Justice Erum Sajjad Gul as well as the team of the Lahore Museum for establishing the museum inside the LHC premises within a short time. He also applauded the efforts of the attorney general of Pakistan, Punjab post-master general and his team for issuing the commemorative stamp for the LHC.

Justice Anwaar said the LHC Museum was his dream, which had come true. He said a museum on the same pattern has been established in Chandigarh, India.

“The formation of a museum is a historical step and this has stimulated the process,” he said. “We have even approached scrap dealers to find artefacts related to the high court.”

The judge requested the people to come forward and help the LHC museum if someone owned any kind of artefacts relating to the court’s history.

Justice Farrukh said establishment of the LHC Museum within a short time was impossible but team efforts made this possible.

The ceremony was part of the celebrations for 150th anniversary of the Lahore High Court that began on November 1 and will continue till December 10.

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