IHC reinstates sessions judge after 3 years

A judicial tribunal of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has reinstated an additional sessions judge who was suspended for firing some aerial shots during a scuffle inside the capital’s red zone.

The judicial tribunal led by IHC Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri restored Judge Jahangir Awan to his office after hearing the case on Thursday.

The additional session judge had an altercation with Chaudhary Khurrum, the husband of a former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker in the Punjab Assembly, Abida Raja, over overtaking a vehicle on September 13, 2020 inside Islamabad’s red zone.

During this alternation Chaudhry Khurram slapped Judge Awan, who later rushed to his car to pick up a firearm and later fired some aerial shots.

Taking notice of the incident, the IHC on September 15, 2020 suspended Judge Awan.

Commenting on the incident, IHC former chief justice Athar Minallah had remarked that there must be writ of the government and it should take the responsibility. “These rich people go for compromise; I haven’t seen such practices in developed societies,” he had noted.