Legal fraternity in conundrum over presenting senior lawyer

Some bar associations say handling this case is not in purview of LHC

LAHORE: To present or not to present; that is the dilemma faced by representatives of different bar associations.

The lawyers seemed divided over whether Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) Multan chapter president should be produced before the larger bench holding contempt of court proceedings against him. The issue was being debated among the legal fraternity from different angles.



The stance of some lawyers is that there are bar councils to tackle the misconduct of lawyers and the matter should have been referred to them. The second group thinks that the supremacy of the bar must be maintained by not appearing before the larger bench if this case has become a matter of ego. A third school of thought says it will cause great harm to bar representatives if the president is surrendered to the court.

At the same time, another section of lawyers, including the Pakistan Bar Council and Punjab Bar Council, claimed the LHCBA Multan president should appear before the court and the matter should be resolved in a peaceful manner.

Earlier, representatives of Pakistan Bar Council, the Punjab Bar Council and LHCBA president Chaudhary Zlifqar Ali had given assurances to the court, saying LHCBA Multan President Sher Zaman Qureshi and Syed Qaiser Abbas Kazmi will appear for the hearing. However, the lawyer failed to turn up despite the fact that notices had been issued on four different occasions.

On Monday, LHCBA president Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali took another stance when he warned of going on strike against the decision of the LHC to issue non-bailable arrest warrants.. Similarly, LBA Vice President Chaudhary Irfan Sadiq Tarar claimed his association stood beside fellow lawyers and the legal fraternity would fight for the survival of the “black coats”.

Punjab Bar Council Chairman Syed Azmat Ali Bukhari claimed there was no harm if the president was not produced before the court. He claimed the issue should be resolved peacefully rather than adopting a confrontational policy. When asked about the chances of observing a black day on Tuesday, as bar associations had claimed, he said the legal fraternity will only go on strike.

Punjab Bar Council Member Advocate Syed Farhad Ali Shah claimed the contempt proceedings could not be run at LHC, adding there are bodies such as the Punjab Bar Council to tackle such issues. He said the CJ should send the matter to the Punjab Bar Council rather than starting proceedings against Sher Zaman.

Pakistan Bar Council Executive Committee Vice Chairman Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon, and Chairman Chaudhry Hafeezur Rehman urged lawyers to act with wisdom and not politicise the unfortunate position taken by those who were bent upon using violent tactics. At the same time, they slammed the use of tear gas on lawyers and condemned the law enforcement agencies’ use of brute force against lawyers.



On July 24, LHCBA Multan president Sher Zaman Qureshi, Syed Qaiser Abbas Kazmi and other lawyers had vandalised and ransacked the court of Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan in Multan. They also tore off a plaque with the judge’s name on it.

After the incident, the chief justice withdrew the judges from the Multan Bench of the Lahore High Court by exercising his constitutional powers.

Later, a committee comprising Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali and Justice Ali Akbar Qureshi was formed to provide an opportunity to the bar association to resolve the matter. The LHC registrar office also wrote letters to the Pakistan Bar Council and Punjab Bar Council for a resolution to the dispute.

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