LAHORE: A Lahore High Court (LHC) full bench on Friday sought assistance from the attorney general and criminal law experts on a legal point whether decisions of anti-terrorism courts (ATCs) could be challenged before the high court through writ petition or criminal revision.

The five-judge bench, headed by Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, was hearing a petition by a citizen pleading that there were two complex decisions by the high court about the mechanism to assail decisions of ATCs.

Petitioner’s counsel stated that the LHC in one verdict ruled that writ petitions could be filed against the decisions of the ATCs while another ruled that criminal revisions were required to be filed in this regard.

The petitioner wanted to challenge a decision by a Multan ATC in the murder case of his brother. However, he said he was in quandary as how to assail the decision of the trial court in the existence of two different verdicts of the high court.

The full bench directed the attorney general of Pakistan, advocate general of Punjab and prosecutor general of Punjab, to assist the court on the matter. The bench also appointed advocates Azam Nazir Tarar, Usman Naseem, Farhad Ali Shah and Mian Ali Haider amicus curie (friends of court) in the case seeking their assistance in the case. The bench would resume hearing on April 16.

JUDICIAL ALLOWANCE: An LHC full bench on Friday summoned record relating to salary and allowances of judicial officers and employees of the high court.

The bench headed by Justice Ayesha A Malik heard petitions by retired district and sessions judges and high court’s employees demanding inclusion of judicial allowance in their pension.

Advocate Anwaar Hussain appeared on behalf of the Punjab Finance Department and stated that the high court could not pass an order for the inclusion of judicial allowance in the pension. He argued that the income tax could be deducted on basic salary and not on the allowances.

The lawyer pointed out that Peshawar High Court already declared that judicial allowances were not part of the salary. He said pension of all government employees was calculated on the basis of basic salary only.

The bench adjourned further hearing for a week and sought record relating to salaries and judicial allowance of the judicial officers and high court’s employees.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2019