LAHORE: A group of lawyers on Monday locked courtroom of an additional district and sessions judge allegedly for not granting bail to a businessman involved in a Rs35 million cheque dishonouring case.

Judge Chaudhry Farrukh Hussain asked counsels of the suspect to advance arguments on the merits of the case, however, the lawyers were adamant that they would get a bail order, witnesses said.

Newly-elected secretary of the Lahore Bar Association (LBA), Adeeb Aslam Bhindar, pleaded the bail petition along with his associates.

After the presiding judge refused to grant bail without discussing merits of the case, the lawyers got angry and used objectionable language against him. Witnesses said the infuriated lawyers locked the courtroom’s door, however the judge had left the court to visit the district and sessions judge.

Sources said the sessions judge had forwarded a complaint to the Lahore High Court chief justice about the ‘offensive’ behaviour of the lawyers.

An employee of the sessions court said another group of lawyers, opponents of the incumbent bar’s cabinet, broke the lock and opened the courtroom. However, he said the enraged lawyers again locked the courtroom. Two judges had already refused to hear the bail petition and sent it to the sessions judge owing to intimidating behaviour of the lawyers, he added.

When contacted, LBA President Chaudhry Ishtiaq A. Khan said no office-bearer of the bar had misbehaved with the judge or locked the courtroom. He said some office-bearers had visited the court of Judge Farrukh Hussain on getting information about a conflict between him and a group of lawyers. But, he added, they found the courtroom already locked by some lawyers. He said the bar leaders tried to resolve the issue, but failed.

Khan also denied that bar secretary Bhindar pleaded any bail petition before the judge. He said a general house meeting of the bar had been convened for Tuesday (today) to take up the matter.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2015

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