Lawyers’ strike: Judge turns down bar’s request to adjourn hearings

On Tuesday, IHCBA president asked Justice Siddiqui not to pass order against the lawyers who had boycotted courts

ISLAMABAD: The tension between the bench and bar of the Islamabad High Court apparently widened on Tuesday after Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui turned down a request from the high court’s bar association for adjourning cases owing to a strike called by the lawyers.

The strike was called after fists went flying in the district court on March 18 when a group of lawyers thrashed a policeman of the Margalla police, who was testifying before Judicial Magistrate Jawad Hussain Adil. The official had booked a lawyer for riding an undocumented motorbike.

On Tuesday morning, IHCBA president Arif Chaudhry, along with other representatives of the IHCBA asked Justice Siddiqui not to pass any adverse order against the lawyers who had boycotted court proceedings. When the judge inquired if the officials were dictating him, Chaudhry clarified it was just a request to which Justice Siddiqui said they could leave.

Chaudhry then asked other lawyers present in the courtroom to vacate the premises.

Later, eyewitnesses said, some lawyers stopped fellow colleagues and litigants from appearing before the bench in an effort to halt proceedings and ensure their strike.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2017.