LAHORE: A group of young lawyers barged into Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah’s courtroom on Wednesday and created a hostile situation for the bench holding contempt of court proceedings against the Lahore High Court Bar Association’s (LHCBA) Multan president.

The five-member bench — comprising the LHC chief justice, Justice Muhammad Anwarul Haq, Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti and Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza — was scheduled to resume hearing at 11am. However, at the scheduled time dozens of lawyers gathered in front of the courtroom with the intent to sabotage its proceedings.

They shouted slogans against the chief justice and the other judges for hearing the case against their colleague. In the midst of the ruckus, the police deployed in front of the chief justice’s courtroom did not intervene, claiming that they wanted to avoid a clash with the aggressive lawyers.

On July 24, LHCBA Multan president Sher Zaman Qureshi, Syed Qaiser Abbas Kazmi and other lawyers had vandalised and ransacked the court of Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan in Multan. They had also torn off a plaque with the judge’s name on it.

Police do not intervene, saying that they want to avoid a clash with lawyers

At the previous hearing, the LHC bench, headed by the chief justice, had withdrawn warrants for the lawyers accused of contempt after LHCBA Lahore president Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali and other senior bar members gave an undertaking to ensure that Mr Qureshi and Mr Kazmi would appear in court.

However, neither of the two lawyers facing contempt charges appeared in court on Wednesday. Instead, a large group of lawyers, most of them from Multan, registered their ‘protest’ by stirring a ruckus in court. While these lawyers milled into the courtroom, a delegation led by Mr Ali met the judges of the bench.

The LHCBA Lahore president later told the lawyers that the bench had adjourned proceedings for another day, after which they dispersed.

The LHC spokesperson said the bench had adjourned the hearing as the judges were scheduled to attend a funeral.

The bench resumed hearing at 3pm after ensuring tight security within the courtroom.

The LHCBA president and other bar leaders appeared in court and told the bench that they were trying their best to placate the bar leaders in Multan. They then asked for two weeks to ensure compliance of the court’s order.

But the bench reminded the lawyers of the undertaking they had given to produce the contemnors in court. Mr Ali replied that the LHCBA Multan chapter had passed a resolution against the court’s order and decided that the bar president would not appear before the bench.

Chief Justice Shah observed that the court had shown grace and withdrawn non-bailable warrants for the contemnors on repeated requests of the bar leaders. He added with regret that the matter had been given a political tinge by lawyers to protect an individual.

“No person in Pakistan can refuse to appear before this court, if summoned. We are showing maximum restraint des­pite having all the powers to make anybody stand before this court,” the CJ observed.

During the hearing, the chief justice repeatedly urged leaders of bar associations and councils to take note of the issue and to not allow the dignity of the institutions to be compromised. Expressing serious concern over the lawyers’ hooliganism, the chief justice said “an administrative” notice had been taken and those involved in the violence would be taken to task.

Upon frequent requests of the LHCBA, the bench gave the contemnors a last chance to appear in court on Aug 11, with the warning that a non-bailable warrants would be issued if they did not comply with the order.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2017