HYDERABAD: A division bench of the Sindh High Court comprising Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Arshad Hussain Khan on Wednesday suspended operation of a Hyderabad District Bar Association (HDBA) resolution, passed a day earlier, to suspend membership of 81-year-old veteran lawyer Advocate Jhamatmal Jethanand and ban his entry into the bar room.

The resolution was passed after an unpleasant incident during Naila Rind case proceedings. The bench directed additional registrar of court to provide record of the purported Sept 26 meeting to court in a sealed envelope.

The court passed the order on a contempt application filed by Advocate Jethanand, who appeared in person. He stated that during the court proceedings, a suggestion came that the HDBA be given representation in the committee, whose formation was being discussed in case hearing. He said he expressed his reservations over the suggestion upon which HDBA general secretary K.B. Leghari shouted and hurled abuses at him in the courtroom-2.

He said court took notice of it and directed High Court Bar Association (HCBA) president Ayaz Tunio and HDBA president Imdad Unnar to take action against the bar secretary.

He said that instead of taking action against Leghari, the HDBA held its meeting a little later and adopted a resolution to suspend his membership. He contended that the proceedings in courtroom-2 ended at 1.30pm and resolution was adopted at 2.30pm. It could not be done without serving minimum three days’ notice to all members. Justice Siddiqui in his order observed that prima facie this resolution could not have been passed without issuing a notice to all members who could have voted one way or the other. “Mr Jhamat may or may not be of the view in respect of the members of bar which may have angered Mr K B Leghari but this by itself may not be a cause for suspension of his membership and to restrict him from entering bar room of HDBA,” said the order. The court issued notices to all HDBA office-bearers as well as HCBA president and general secretary seeking their comments. The matter was adjourned to October 5.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2017