November 30, 2002	Saturday	Ramazan 24, 1423

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RAWALPINDI, Nov 29: The district and sessions judge on Friday ordered the police to stop the construction work on the new lawyer’s chambers, within the court premises, in compliance with the Lahore High Court chief justice’s direction, who had termed it illegal.

According to eye-witnesses, the police came to the site on Friday morning and stopped the labourers from carrying out construction work. At this, the lawyers, present on the court premises, gathered in the bar and condemned the action. Later, some of the building material was shifted by the labourers to the bar premises.

According to sources, the office-bearers of the Rawalpindi Bar Association (RBA) had neither acquired a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the revenue department nor did they put the matter in front of the chief justice before starting the construction work.

He said this was the reason behind the emergency visit of the RBA secretary, Mudassar Khalid Abbasi, to Lahore for obtaining the NOC, as soon as the work was stopped. Some lawyers said Mr Abbasi had left for Lahore and would come back with the NOC very soon.

The RBA president, Asmatullah, claimed that he had talked to the chief justice, Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmad, over the phone, who clarified that he had not directed the district and sessions judge, Dost Mohammad Khimta, to stop the ongoing construction work nor had he termed the construction illegal.

Mr Asmat said construction work had been started after fulfilling the legal process and that the district and sessions judge had issued directions, all on his own. He said Mr Khimta had also sent the SSP police to pressurize the lawyers. He said since independence, there had been lawyers’ chambers in this place and that they had taken it from the revenue department on lease. He said the lawyers were building the chambers on self-finance basis.

When contacted, the district and sessions judge, Dost Mohammad Khimta told Dawn that he was following the orders of the Lahore High Court chief justice.

Responding to a question, he said he had not directed anyone on his own.

Meanwhile, in a meeting of its members, the RBA passed a resolution in which the lawyers condemned the action by the district and sessions judge and demanded of the chief justice to transfer him (judge) from Rawalpindi. They also decided to boycott the court of the district and sessions judge, and threatened to demonstrate against the official if the construction work was not re-started.