LAHORE: Scores of lawyers hailing from Gujran-wala, Faisalabad, Sargodha and other divisions staged a demonstration; first outside the courtroom of the Lahore High Court chief justice and later outside the Punjab Assembly demanding creation of new benches of the high court in their respective divisions.

The charged lawyers, holding placards and banners, marched towards the LHC chief justice’s courtroom despite being stopped by the police personnel on duty.

They chanted slogans for establishment of high court’s regional benches and also threatened to lock down the district courts in their respective divisions on Nov 14 if the demand was not met.

The lawyers claimed the creation of new benches was their fundamental right.

Later, they marched on The Mall and gathered outside the Punjab Assembly to register their protest. They also torched tyres and kept the road blocked almost for an hour. Some of the lawyers also protested outside the Governor House.

A full court comprising all the LHC judges had in 2016 resolved that there was no need to create more permanent regional benches. Headed by the then chief justice, Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, now a judge of the Supreme Court, had held a three-day session to deliberate upon the question of establishing more benches in five divisions of Punjab.

“After extensive deliberations the full court ruled that the demand for establishing new additional benches of the Lahore High Court cannot be acceded to,” the decision of the full court had maintained.

The LHCBA had welcomed the decision.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2018