KARACHI: Member and former vice chairman of the Sindh Bar Council Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed on Wednesday resigned from the SBC alleging that financial irregularities and unauthorised payments of millions of rupees had been rampant for the past 10 years in the statutory body that issued licences to law practitioners.

Addressing a hurriedly-called press conference, Barrister Ahmed said he would file a constitutional petition within 30 days against corruption in the SBC. He explained that he resigned as SBC member because he remained unable to play his role in eliminating corrupt practices in the body that also regulated the conduct of lawyers and helped in the administration of justice.

He said that no SBC budget had been passed by the full council, an exercise that was required to be conducted every year, for the past 10 years.

Barrister Ahmed, who also had served as SBC vice chairman, said that no bar council member had access to the financial documents.

The SBC account statement for 2016 showed annual expenses as Rs19,215,535, he said. Of this, he added, Rs4,269,525 was given as TA/DA to various SBC members and Rs9,575,940 was spent on staff salaries. Besides, he said, members were receiving up to Rs24,000 per day without even presenting any proof of travel, while under the SBC rules the maximum travelling allowance was Rs500 a day for the members coming to the city from other parts of the province to attend SBC meetings.

Similarly, he said, millions of rupees were collected annually from advocates by way of Benevolent Fund contributions and huge amounts were disbursed by the SBC. “Strangely, such receipts and disbursements are neither included in the annual accounts nor audited and, in fact, kept secret even from other SBC members,” he added.

Audit demanded

Barrister Ahmed demanded that all SBC receipts and expenditures must be audited by a chartered accountant to expose all the corrupt practices in the lawyers’ prime body.

He claimed that the SBC failed to maintain enrolment standards while issuing licences to law graduates. He said SBC members were themselves involved in unfair means in the written exams for the licence seekers.

The SBC comprises executive committee chairman and vice chairman, both elected by SBC members each year, while SBC members are elected by the advocates from different constituencies across the province. Members serve a term of five years, beginning on January 1, with elections held each November to fill seats of those whose terms will expire in the following January. The advocate general acts as ex-officio chairman of the SBC but he does not exercise power as do the elected positions within the council.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2017