Bar and bench

The resignations of over 1,300 lower court judges in Punjab, to express solidarity with a brother judge in Lahore, whose transfer had been demanded by sections of the bar, means that urgent efforts need to be made to prevent an already unseemly situation from getting even more out of hand. This new development comes follows ugly violent seen nationwide on television screens of pitched battles between police and lawyers on The Lower Mall, one of Lahore's major roads, as well as the main barroom. A host of senior lawyers has been dragged into the fray and this does not help the judicial and legal professions. There will always be two opinions about the appropriateness of the style adopted in the courtroom by the district and sessions judge in question, whose transfer lawyers affiliated with the Lahore Bar Association are demanding. But resorting to hooliganism, abusive language against judges and the use of thuggish behavior is not the best way to drive home the message. By the same token, the action by the police was also wholly unwarranted and only served to inflame the conflict.

There is an effort on to politicise the matter. Allegations have come that the law minister is involved. Realistically speaking, this seems unlikely with the issue possibly a continuation of previous unrest between lawyers and district judges. In all this, people are too often forgotten. It is they who suffer when lawyers go on strike, holding up cases that have sometimes lingered on for years. The ruckus also reduces respect for the legal system and all those who form a part of it, and this is nothing short of a tragedy. This lack of faith in the system has contributed to the mob violence of the kind seen recently in Sialkot. What needs to be done — on a war footing — is for both sides to sit down together and sort out their differences, instead of fighting in full public view. A greater responsibility lies on the shoulders of the lawyers since much of the violence has been exhibited at their end. Both sides should realise that it is in their best interest to sort out differences amicably.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2010.