Illegal activity: Lawyers encroach on court to build chambers

Even public toilets of Model Town courts turned into personal spaces

LAHORE: As others were out celebrating the New Year, lawyers in Lahore took the liberty of converting several sections of the Model Town courts into at least 20 private chambers on Sunday. The advocates did not even spare the public washrooms at the premises, taking them over as their personal space, The Express Tribune has learnt.

In a shocking, apparently pre-planned move, the legal eagles started the illegal construction on New Year night, benefitting from the police officers’ security engagements. The structures have come up adjacent to the new complex, in front of the new judicial lockup, meeting room of judges and the court of judicial magistrate Zafar Fareed Jafri.

Some public washrooms, located at the old judicial lockup, were first occupied and then converted into chambers while some more chambers were constructed adjacent of the main gate of the Model Town courts.



After that, a kiosk was uprooted and shifted to another location so that a chamber could be established in its place.

Some lawyers, unable to construct their own chambers, had been plotting to occupy the parking space of judges for quite some time, an insider told The Express Tribune.

Meanwhile, some legal fraternity members have prepared a requisition to be submitted in the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) to remove the vice-president’s seat at the Model Town courts, alleging it was him who permitted the construction of illegal chambers.



They alleged certain chambers were reserved under the names of ‘fake’ lawyers and later sold to the advocates. The letter added the Model Town VPs turned this practice into a money-churning business and recommended forming a committee consisting of 50 lawyers to discuss the matter.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Model Town VP Shehzad Khan Kakar said this action by the lawyers could not be tolerated. He said he formed a six-member committee to meet with members of the legal fraternity and restrain them from building illegal chambers.

He added he had told the lawyers that the district and sessions judge had promised constructing new chambers on 10 marlas at the Model Town courts by January 8 but they did not pay any heed to it.

Shehzad said he had tried his best to convince the lawyers, albeit to no avail.



However, District and sessions judge Nazir Ahmed Gajana denied promising land for building private chambers to anyone as claimed by VP Shehzad.

He said that nobody could be allowed to construct illegal chambers on court premises. “Strict action will be taken against those involved in constructing illegal chambers,” he added.

Model Town SP Operations Ismael Kharak also said no one would be allowed to take law in their hands but added that police could only act on orders given to them by the relevant authorities. In the past as well, similar activities have been witnessed at the Model Town courts, when lawyers constructed more than 50 illegal chambers in 2012, allegedly on the permission given by then VP Zameer Ahmad Jhedu.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2017.