Judge’s ‘thrashing’ triggers boycott of sessions courts

LAHORE: A judge was assaulted by a group of lawyers in his chambers on Tuesday, after which judicial officers refused to even set foot in the district and sessions courts.

The lawyers used abusive language and attempted to beat civil judge Waseem Ahmed in his chamber and snatched the files of six cases after he decided against them in a property matter. The lawyers also tore down the order sheet.

The scuffle erupted when the judge accepted four applications under Section 12 and subsection 2 of Civil Procedure Code (CPC) against some decrees, which according to the petitioner, had fraudulently been obtained from the court.

Later, the district and sessions judge Abid Hussain Qureshi took the notice and had the marking room locked. The marking room is the place that applications seeking registration of cases, bail petitions, habeas corpus petitions, review petitions and others submitted.

After that, the judges gathered at the office of district and sessions judge Abid Hussain Qureshi.



According to sources, Lahore Bar Association’s (LBA) Joint Secretary Alia Atif Aqeel told the judge to pass an order in her favour as she had charged a huge fee to fight the case. In response, the judge replied to her that he would decide the matter on merit. When contacted, Alia denied saying anything of that nature. “The judge is the one who attacked lawyers when they went to his chamber to ask why he passed an order on the same day he was on leave,” she said. She added that when the lawyers demanded to examine the case file, the judge refused..

Talking to The Express Tribune, Abid Hussain Qureshi demanded security for judges to avoid such incidents in the future. “This sort of conduct would not be tolerated,” he said. “Judges wanted to work without any pressures.”

LBA Vice-President Chaudhary Irfan Sadiq Tarar also asserted that the lawyers did not attack the judge. “No we did not thrash him.”

Advocate Rana Faisal, also accused of his involvement, said the judge attacked him and issued death threats. “I did not tear order sheet or snatch the judicial record,” he claimed. “The judge said even if he has to leave his post, he will and will kill me and the others.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2017.