LAHORE: The legal fraternity on Thursday observed a strike and boycotted the courts in protest against the proposed elevation of Justice Ayesha A Malik of the Lahore High Court (LHC) to the Supreme Court (SC).

The protest coincided with a meeting of the judicial commission in Islamabad to discuss the elevation of the woman judge, stated to be fourth in the seniority of the LHC judges. However, the meeting could not finalise the elevation due to equal votes.

Addressing a general house meeting of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), its president Maqsood Buttar said the judicial commission should follow the principle of seniority unless it framed its rules for the elevation of the high court’s judges to the apex court. He said Justice Malik was a competent judge but the issue was related to the principle of seniority and the rights of the senior judges.

He recalled that in past, women judges had been deprived of their right by bypassing the principle of seniority.

LHCBA secretary Khwaja Mohsin Abbas presented a resolution before the house against all out of turn elevations of the judges to the Supreme Court made till date. The house unanimously passed the resolution.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2021