ISLAMABAD: The dispute between the top lawyers’ bodies landed at the doorstep of the Supreme Court on Thursday, with the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) challenging the issuance of a show-cause notice and de-seating of its secretary and additional secretary on account of alleged misconduct by the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC).

In a late-night move, the SCBA also suspended the membership of the PBC executive committee members, including its chairman Hassan Raza Pasha, over “gross misconduct” and alleged attempts to take over the Supreme Court lawyers’ body.

Moved through senior counsel Hamid Khan, the petition requested the apex court to quash the notices issued by the PBC and its executive committee to Muqtedir Akhtar Shab­bir and Malik Shakeelur Reh­man over their alleged defiance of the decisions of the executive committee.

The controversy at hand was the Feb 24 meeting of the PBC executive committee which decided that Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon will represent the association instead of its president Abid Zuberi before the Supreme Court in a suo motu case regarding delay in Punjab and KP polls. Subsequently, the PBC on April 4 de-seated the two office bearers over non-compliance with the executive body’s decision.

SCBA moves top court against PBC’s show-cause notice, suspends members of executive committee

‘Mala fide and without jurisdiction’

The petition pleaded that the notice and the de-seating were “blatantly illegal, arbitrary, mala fide, without jurisdiction, politically motivated, and in violation of the fundamental rights enshrined under Articles 9, 10A, 17, 18, 19, 19A and 25, read with Article 4”.

It also challenged Rule 125 and 175-B of the Legal Practitioners and Bar Council Rules 1976 with a request before the court to declare the same as illegal and liable to be struck down.

Rule 125 allows the PBC to initiate suo motu proceedings against advocates for disciplinary reasons while Rule 175-B suggests punishment for non-observance or defiance of council’s instructions.

A restraining order has also been sought from the court against the PBC to stop it from interfering in the affairs of the SCBA and taking “adverse or coercive action” against the association on the basis of the show-cause notice.

The petition alleged that the group having the majority in the PBC was actively working against the rule of law, independence of the bar and judiciary under alleged dictation.

The petitioners have no faith in the independence of the PBC, it said, adding that Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar was a member of the PBC and was allegedly exerting his influence over the council to further the agenda of his political party.

The petition argued that neither the SCBA nor its members in any way are accountable to the PBC since it was an association of all the Supreme Court-enrolled advocates which serves as an independent and democratic forum ensuring equal and fair representation of all advocates of the Supreme Court.

The petition alleged that the notice was “simply an attempt to curb” the SCBA’s voice and to threaten and harass those attempting to “lay bare the hypocrisy and corruption prevalent in the PBC”.

Memberships suspended

Meanwhile, in an apparently retaliatory measure, SCBA Secretary Muqtedir Akhtar Shabbir suspended the membership of seven members of the PBC executive committee, namely Chairman Hassan Raza Pasha, members Syed Amjad Shah, Riazat Ali Sahar, Muhammad Tariq Afridi, Muhammad Masood Chishti, Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon and Syed Qalb-e-Hassan. The issue has also been referred to the general meeting for a final decision.

In an announcement, the SCBA alleged that from the very beginning of the present term of the 25th Executive Committee, the majority group controlling the PBC tried to sabotage the working of the SCBA directly and through their group members within the executive committee.

The SCBA held that the members conducted the executive committee meeting in a “contemptuous matter which was sub-judice before the Supreme Court, which amounts to the contempt of the Supreme Court and defeats the interest of justice”.

“These members are attempting to illegally takeover the SCBA by taking illegal action against the secretary and the additional secretary, which amounted to the gross misconduct of the SCBA.” According to the apex body, it conducted an inquiry in which it was established that members committed gross misconduct and illegally attempted to take over the SCBA.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2023