Lower courts’ shifting: IHC overrules registrar’s objection over a petition

IHC is housed in judicial complex in G-10 that was constructed for district courts.

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday overruled an objection raised by the registrar’s office on a petition seeking the transfer of lower courts from F-8 Markaz to the judicial complex in Sector G-10.

IHC acting Chief Justice Riaz Ahmed fixed the hearing after Eid to decide the maintainability of the case.

Former vice-president of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association IHCBA, Chaudhry Muhammad Akram has filed a petition for the transfer of district courts from F-8 Markaz to the judicial complex which was originally constructed for district courts but currently houses the IHC.

The petitioner maintained that the IHC was occupying in the judicial complex despite the fact that the strength of the lower judiciary had increased. “There is not enough space to cater to the requirements of the subordinate judiciary,” he argued.

The IHC is housed in the district courts complex since its building is yet to be constructed. The petitioner argued due to overcrowding in district courts, lawyers, judges and litigants were facing problems. He requested the court to pass the order to shift the lower judiciary to the complex.

He cited the recent row between lawyers and judges over the construction of illegal chambers. The petitioner was of the view that the issue could be resolved if the district courts were shifted.

Lawyers are on strike since October 10 after the anti-encroachment staff of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) demolished their chambers they had illegally built on a playground in F-8. The lawyers also locked the doors of 40 courtrooms. The issue remains unresolved despite negotiations between bar and benches.

The petitioner informed the court that in 2005, the government had planned to shift the lower courts to the newly-constructed judicial complex, but it deferred the plan.

Since 2011, the lower judiciary has been divided into two districts — East and West — and the number of judges has increased from 12 to 50.

The CDA has allotted 30 kanals for the IHC on the Constitution Avenue but construction has yet to begin.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2013.