ISLAMABAD, May 29: The Supreme Court on Thursday advised the lawyers to negotiate a settlement of their dispute on the possession of their offices on evacuee property with the Lahore High Court, and avoid litigation.

The dispute arose when the lawyers were asked to vacate their offices on the evacuee land as it had been purchased by the Lahore High Court.

The lawyers approached the SC under its original jurisdiction, and it suspended the operation of the LHC chief justice’s administrative order to vacate their chambers at Fane Road Lahore.

The SC on Thursday took up the case but the petitioners’ counsel, Malik Qayyum, a former LHC judge, was not present. The SC, comprising Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and Justice Rana Bhagwandas, were informed that Malik Qayyum’s stomach was upset. The case was adjourned until the second week of June. The SC office would now fix the case.

The LHC chief justice, through an administrative order on March 21, 2003, had ordered 47 lawyers to vacate their offices as the high court had purchased the land from the Evacuee Board in 1996.

Justice Iftikhar Mohammad observed it would be in the interest of the bar and the bench that the matter was decided amicably.

Advocate General Punjab Syed Shabbar Raza Rizvi has objected to the appearance of Malik Qayyum as counsel in the case.

Syed Shabbar Raza Rizvi said that under the law, after issuing a judicial or administrative order in a dispute between the parties, a judge could not represent any of the parties in the subsequent proceedings.

Mohammad Ashraf Wahla, petitioner-counsel, controverted the argument by contending that under the Legal Practitioners Act, and also under the Constitution, no one could be barred from practising law, and every citizen was entitled to engage a lawyer of his choice.