HYDERABAD: Offended by his alleged indecent remarks against it and its members, the Hyderabad District Bar Association (HDBA) through a resolution adopted on Tuesday suspended membership of veteran lawyer of the city Advocate Jhamatmal Jethanand.

It also banned his entry in the bar room till he apologised in the presence of all members.

The bar took the decision following an unpleasant incident during proceedings of the Naila Rind case earlier in the day before the Sindh High Court’s division bench-II, headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Fahim Ahmed Siddiqui.

Advocate Jethanand, who has been in the legal profession for 54 years, was appearing in the case as a member of the Sindh University syndicate. Advocate Sajjad Chandio was appointed amicus curae in the case.

According to reports, some remarks were passed by Advocate Jethanand during the case proceedings after the bench proposed formation of a committee in the matter. It provoked HDBA general secretary K.B. Leghari and he reacted angrily.

Naila Rind was found dead in her hostel room in Sindh University’s hostel in January this year. Her autopsy report suggested that she had committed suicide. However, a petition was filed to seek a judicial probe into the matter as the victim’s family kept claiming that it was a murder.

During the previous hearing of the case on Sept 18, the court had directed a women development department officer to visit all girls hostels of Sindh University to meet students and ask them if they had any complaints.

“When the bench proposed formation of a committee regarding issues of girls in university I proposed that the bar as a stakeholder should be given representation to which [Advocate] Jethanand reacted somewhat angrily and said that he knew what the bar was doing prompting me to retort,” said Sajjad Chandio.

He said that formation of a committee was proposed after women development officer Fauzia Asharaf made startling disclosures which stunned everyone in the courtroom including judges.

He conceded that at this point of time, Advocate Leghari who was present in the courtroom reacted aggressively to the senior counsel’s remarks. “Justice Panhwar told him that this was not the way and that if he had anything to share, he should come to the rostrum but should not behave like this being a bar leader,” Chandio added.

KB Leghari could not be reached for his comment.

HDBA president Imdad Unnar told Dawn that he and High Court Bar Association (HCBA) president Ayaz Tunio were called by the bench. “We apologised to what had happened over Advocate Leghari’s conduct but we did say that the bar would take its decision over the senior lawyer’s indecent remarks against the bar and lawyers,” he said.

Advocate Jethanand said that he did not want to comment. He, however, said that the bench had admonished bar leaders for their conduct. “If they have adopt a resolution and banned my entry, I will see to it accordingly,” he said.

HDBA in its resolution condemned “false allegations” levelled by senior counsel in courtroom. It said that the counsel used abusive language against members of the bar in open court.

The bar suspended the senior counsel’s membership and referred the matter to Sindh Bar Council’s executive committee for disciplinary and exemplary action against him. It urged Sindh chief minister not to give undue favour to him by assigning government’s cases in which millions of rupees are paid to him. It said the governor was also expected to appoint some other person as the dean of SU’s faculty of law.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2017