MULTAN: The Lahore High Court Multan Bench Bar Association on Tuesday observed strike over the announcement by Lahore High Court judge Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz to resign from services, requesting the judge to withdraw his decision to quit.

A notification issued by the LHC Bar Association Multan secretary general Sajjad Haidar Sapra, that was placed on the bar notice board , says: “The members of high court bar association [Multan] are informed that Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz left the court abruptly today [Tuesday] due to unknown reasons while saying that he was resigning [from his service]. The lawyers, against this decision of Justice Chaudhry, will not appear before the courts in urgent cases, and if the decision is not taken back [by Justice Chaudhry], the bar will observe the strike on a permanent basis”.

High court registrar’s office says judge on three-day leave

Talking to Dawn, bar President Chaudhry Tahir Mehmood said a delegation of the association held a meeting with the judge after which the bar announced his support.

He said the judge told the bar delegation that his mother was ill and he had requested for his transfer to Rawalpindi from Multan, which was not being entertained while his leave application was also not being accepted.

He said he was not sure whether the judge had yet dispatched his resignation to the LHC chief justice.

Terming Justice Chaudhry an upright and competent judge, Mr Mahmood said: “He is a hardworking judge and remains in the court till late in the evening to hear and decide the maximum number of cases to provide relief to the people. We, being the representatives of the bar, want that the country should not be deprived of such judges as it is more important that he should remain part of the judiciary.”Deploring a shortage of judges, the bar president said already there were only 39 judges in the Lahore High Court, against the approved strength of 60.

“Only Multan bench should have 12 judges, but there are only seven judges here, while a judge has to hear 100 to 150 cases on a daily basis, instead of 30 to 40 cases,” he added.

“Only the chief justice is the authority over the transfers/postings of the judges and may better decide which judge should serve where; however, it would be more appropriate if Justice Chaudhry is transferred to Rawalpindi,” he said, adding that transfer of such a competent judge was better for the people seeking justice than his resignation.

Meanwhile, a press release issued by the Lahore High Court Registrar’s office on Tuesday said, “Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz will be on a leave for the next three days because of his mother’s illness and won’t be performing judicial duties from Jan 20 to 22.”

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2021