LHC CJ ignores request to expunge remarks

Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan on Thursday did not pay heed to a request of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) to expunge some remarks passed by him.

“The remarks were against the conduct of those armed forces’ officers who are not earning a good name for their institution,” the CJ made clear. Respect is earned through conduct and that should be very good for the sake of maintaining respect of an institution, he remarked.

He added that if he got involved in a scuffle with a shopkeeper then everyone would say “the chief justice is fighting”. Similar is the case with lawyers, he added.

“I was talking about those who illegally occupied the land and this conduct could not be linked with the institution,” CJ Khan remarked.

Referring to the case, the chief justice observed that land of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) could not be occupied. “Constitutionally, we have to protect the minorities, their properties and worship places.”

CJ Khan also remarked that the LDA had become a party in the case as its legal adviser Amir Saeed Rawn had given.an impression that the LHC had exchanged its 50-kanal land.

He said he was examining the noting of a letter posted on social media.

The CJ adjourned the proceedings till May 3 with a direction to the DHA to not intervene regarding the leased land the petitioners had obtained from the ETPB.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2021.