SCBA president faces rebellion

Most members of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), belonging to the Independent Group, have raised objections over the filing of a petition in Supreme Court by their president and suspended secretary against the Pakistan Bar Council's (PBC) decision to remove two of the association's officials from their posts.

They have urged the top court to dismiss the petition, which has been fixed for hearing on May 9.

They have revolted against their own president, Abid Zuberi, and passed a resolution against his move to file a petition in the SC against the PBC order to remove the association’s secretary and additional secretary from their posts.
The resolution was passed during a meeting of the SCBA Executive Committee.

Ten members of the association’s executive body revolted against Zuberi and declared the PBC’s decision to oust SCBA Secretary Muqtedir Akhtar Shabbir and Additional Secretary Shakeel-ur-Rehman from their posts over charges of  ‘misconduct' as a correct one.

The resolution read: “That it has come to our notice that the President SCBA [Abid Zuberi] along with [the] suspended secretary and the suspended additional secretary on behalf of [the] SCBA have filed a Constitution Petition bearing No.13/2023 before the Honorable Supreme Court of Pakistan against the lawful orders passed by the learned Executive Committee of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC).”

It added that while refuting the baseless contents levelled against the  Executive Committee of PBC in the petition, the majority members of the association unanimously stated that the majority of the SCBA Executive Committee was never taken on board before the petition was filed.

“That neither the president nor the suspended secretary approached or contacted us personally or by way of calling [a] meeting in order to take approval for filing [the] petition,” it continued.

The resolution further read that the majority members unanimously disapproved the filing of the petition before the apex court as well as never supported any proceedings against the PBC which was the regulatory [body] of all the bar associations of the country including the SCBA.

“That we the majority members unanimously resolve that the contentions made in the instant petition [are] not only ultra-vires to the Constitution but also contrary to Legal Practitioner and Bar Council Act, 1973 and Pakistan Legal Practitioners and Bar Council Rules, 1976,” it stated.

“That in terms of Rule (15), (16), (18) & (22) of SCBA Rules 1989 restrains the president or the secretary [from making] any unilateral decision[s] without the approval of the Executive Committee,” it noted.

The resolution concluded that the SCBA majority members call upon the SC that the matter was not maintainable before this forum, and as such, the proceedings be dismissed in light of the judgment and already settled law by the top court in case number PLD 2007 262.

On Friday, the SC refused to suspend the PBC's order on the de-seating of the SCBA secretary and additional secretary on account of ‘misconduct’.
The court, maintaining status quo on the SCBA’s petition against the PBC order, adjourned the hearing till May 9.

On Thursday, SCBA President  Zuberi and suspended secretary Shabbir had filed a petition in the top court, pleading against the show-cause notices issued by the PBC to the association’s two officials.