ISLAMABAD: Enraged lawyers of the Islamabad Bar Association (IBA) on Friday locked the courtroom of a civil judge Shaista Khan Kundi over entering into heated argument with their leadership.

The administration of the district courts, however, resolved the issue and managed to unlock the courtroom later on.

This was not the first time that lawyers had locked the courtroom rather the black coats have become habitual of taking ‘revenge’ in this manner from the lower courts judges for ‘confronting’ them.

As per the background of the incident, the civil judge had dismissed a petition of a retired government official who was seeking to retain the government accommodation even after the lapse of timeframe prescribed under the rule.

The retired official filed another petition on Friday but the judge dismissed the application again and imposed a fine on him.

This infuriated the counsel for the applicant who exchanged heated arguments with the judge.

According to an eye-witness, the lawyer then made a telephone call to the secretary IBA Raja Yasir Shakeel who arrived to support his fellow colleague.

A local lawyer said that judge Kundi and secretary IBA Shakeel went into arguments which led President of the bar association Chaudhry Khanzada to intervene. However, the lawyers’ leadership failed to resolve the issue and they left the courtroom in anger.

Some young lawyers who were accompanying their leaders locked the courtroom.

The district and sessions judge Sohail Nasir then invited lawyers’ representatives to his chamber where the issue was settled.

Subsequently, the administration in the district courts unlocked the courtroom.

In December last year the lawyers had detained some 20 judges in their chambers after the Capital Development Authority conducted a midnight operation to demolish some of their chambers illegally built in front of and in the surroundings of the courtrooms, parking, entrance and emergency exit.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2019