LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan on Monday sentenced a lawyer for six-month imprisonment under a contempt of court charge for misbehaving with a judge.

Advocate Zahid Mahmood Goraya was present in the court when the chief justice announced the conviction under Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003, read with Article 204 of the Constitution.

The police arrested the lawyer immediately after the court order and shifted him to jail.

The chief justice also imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on the lawyer.

Justice Sultan Tanvir Ahmad had forwarded a reference to the chief justice for taking action against the lawyer on charges of committing misconduct in his court.

The chief justice declined an apology by the lawyer and indicted him last week.

Prosecutor General of Punjab Farhad Ali Shah was tasked by the court to prosecute the lawyer.

After last week’s hearing, Advocate Goraya told reporters that he had a great respect for the courts and judges. He said he had already sought an unconditional apology from Justice Ahmad for his conduct, which, he claimed, was never an intended act but it happened on the spur of the moment.

He claimed that the judge had accepted his apology with a promise to withdraw the reference.

The Lahore High Court Bar Association has not so far given its reaction on the conviction of the lawyer under the contempt of court charge.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2024