Judge transferred for not giving in to lawyers’ demands

LAHORE:

Additional District and Sessions Judge Farrukh Hussain’s transfer from Lahore due to pressure by a group of lawyers has left a bitter taste in judicial circles. Some legal experts said such stunts make one appreciate the wisdom of military courts.

On February 16, a group of lawyers had locked Judge Hussain in his courtroom after he refused to grant a suspect bail without hearing the other side’s arguments. The lawyers were led by elected representatives of the Lahore Bar Association. LBA general secretary Adeeb Aslam Bhinder and finance secretary Fazahar Jutt used abusive language against Judge Hussain and manhandled him when he refused to give into their demands.

On February 18, District and Sessions Judge Tariq Iftikhar Ahmed assured LBA representatives that Judge Hussain would be transferred in a few days. The transfer orders were issued on Friday.

Advocate Safdar Mahmood, a member of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, said such incidents were commonplace in lower courts in Lahore. “They rarely get reported.”

He said Hussain was one among several judges who had “faced the music” for refusing to give into lawyers’ demands. He said lawyers and judges, even the Lahore High Court, preferred to stay out of such cases and gave into lawyers’ demands, because it was expedient. He said it was in the background of such cases that one appreciated military courts. These courts could be expected not to give in to lawyers’ “demands” and to dispense justice without giving in to pressure.

The situation in civil courts is worse, Mahmood said. Cases pending in these courts should be sent directly to military courts, he said. Belligerent lawyers get away with rowdy behaviour almost every time, he said.

Advocate Nadim Anthony said a similar incident had taken place in 2010 in which the LBA started a campaign against a district and sessions judge, Zawar Ahmad Sheikh. The lawyers ransacked then Lahore High Court chief justice Khawaja Sharif’s court room and broke its door to press for their demands. Instead of being punished for their criminal actions, the chief justice gave into their demands and transferred Sheikh.

All lawyers are not like that. “But there are some who declare their word the law and see judges as tools at their disposal.”

Military courts make a mockery of the judicial system, he said. “However, the judiciary has failed to establish its integrity.”

Cricketers

Last week, the LHC dismissed a petition seeking seizure of cricketers Muhammad Asif’s, Salman Butt’s and Muhammad Amir’s assets. The cricketers had been convicted of spot-fixing last year. The court observed that the cricketers had already been punished and could not be penalised twice.

Minhaj Inquiry

The LHC expressed “serious displeasure” at the provincial government’s delay in submitting a reply to petitions demanding the release of a judicial inquiry report on the Model Town violence.

A full bench, headed by Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan, was hearing the petitions. An additional advocate general sought more time to file the government’s reply on the matter.

The bench observed that the government had been seeking “more time” to file a reply for the last eight months. Justice Khan observed that it appeared as if the government wanted to protect the authorities involved in the Model Town violence. The judge expresed displeasure over the delay in submitting reply to the petitions.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2015.