Settlement: Judge resumes work ‘after DSJ’s word on his transfer’

LAHORE:

The court of an additional district and sessions’ judge, locked following a scuffle between two groups of lawyers on Monday, opened today (Tuesday) after the Lahore Bar Association leadership was assured by a senior judge that a transfer order would soon be obtained for the ADSJ, The Express Tribune has learnt. 

On Monday, ADSJ Farrukh Hussain had been dragged out of his chamber by a group of lawyers on his refusal to grant bail to a man held in a bounced cheque case without first hearing the prosecution’s arguments.

Those present at the scene had said the attackers included several LBA members.

The judge was saved from the attackers by a police team. However, his courtroom remained locked until today’s meeting between the LBA officials and District and Sessions Judge Tariq Iftikhar Ahmed.

A source privy to the development told The Express Tribune that DSJ Ahmed had met LBA president Chaudhary Ishtiaq Ahmed and general secretary Adeeb Aslam Bhindar in the presence of Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) president Shafqat Mehmood Chohan.

He said the LBA delegation had claimed that ADSJ Farrukh Hussain was undermining the authority of the body. “They told DSJ Ahmed that it was unfair on his part to support a group of lawyers unaffiliated with the association in a brawl between them and some LBA members,” he said.

When asked about Judge Ahmed’s assurance to the LBA regarding the ADSJ’s transfer, LBA president Chaudhary Ishtiaq refused comment. He, however, said that the matter had been resolved for the time being. “The LBA cannot let any one undermine its rightful authority,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th, 2015.