Chief Justice Isa imposes Rs10,000 fine on lawyer for seeking adjournment

The Supreme Court has disposed of a petition related to land ownership dispute in Sukkur between the Auqaf Department and citizens on withdrawal of petition by the Auqaf Department.

The court imposed a fine of Rs10,000 on the Auqaf Department's lawyer for seeking adjournment on the decade-old case.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Qazi Faez Isa heard a petition related to the land ownership dispute between the Auqaf Department and citizens in Sukkur. Justice Isa got angry when the counsel of the Auqaf Department Ghulam Shabeer Lashari Advocate asked for adjournment.

The Chief Justice remarked that everyone has made a joke of the Supreme Court. The case has been pending for 10 years and even today it is being asked to adjourn it. The court imposes a fine of Rs10,000 on the lawyer for asking for an adjournment.

Justice Isa remarked that adjournment should not be sought even in the civil courts. He said it was due to lawyers shying from cases that people say that the case has been pending in the Supreme Court for 20 years. He said that apparently, lawyers should not disrespect their profession.

The court disposed of the case after the Auqaf Department withdrew the petition. The Chief Justice remarked that if the case had not proceeded, the court would have imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on the lawyer.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2024.