KARACHI, Nov 23: The ordinance promulgated on Nov 3 to amend the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act was based on the recommendations made by the Pakistan Bar Council, PBC Vice-Chairman Rasheed A. Razvi informed a Sindh High Court division bench on Tuesday.

The bench, which consists of Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Amir Hani Muslim, is hearing two writ petitions moved by two lawyers, Hanif A. Bhatti and Asif Soomro, to challenge the enhanced professional standing prescribed for contestants in the provincial bar council polls and reduction of the seats reserved for the Larkana district in the Sindh Bar Council from two to one by the Nov 3 amendment.

They particularly question the 'retrospective' effect given to the new provisions, particularly when the NWFP Bar Council has already elected its members under the old law.

The bench was also informed that a full bench of the Lahore High Court was seized of an intra-court appeal agitating identical questions. The full bench has vacated a stay order granted by a single LHC judge against the ongoing electoral process for Punjab Bar Council polls.

The SHC bench observed that it would like to await the outcome of the LHC proceedings without suspending its own deliberations. November 25 was fixed as the next date of hearing for arguments by Advocate-General Anwar Mansoor Khan, who is also ex officio chairman of the SBC and returning officer for the SBC polls.

Advocate Raja Qureshi, arguing Advocate Hanif Bhatti's petition, submitted that once an electoral process has been set in motion, the ground rules cannot be altered to the detriment of a contestant.

The petitioner had filed his nomination papers and paid the security deposit amounting to Rs 5000 when the requirement of seven years' practice at the Bar was raised to 10 years, which rendered him ineligible.

He cited superior court judgments in support of his contention. The counsel argued that a law cannot be allowed to deprive a candidate of his vested right. The bench observed that a candidate's nomination papers cannot be said to have been accepted till they are scrutinized. Advocate Qureshi said the petitioner's papers stand rejected by operation of the new law.

The PBC recommendation to amend the Bar Councils Act was made in May and a bill seeking to enact it was introduced in August and was pending consideration by a Senate committee when an ordinance was issued all of a sudden to revise the candidates' qualification and reduce the number of seats in the bar councils.

The SBC strength has been curtailed from 42 to 32, he pointed out. Advocate Asif Soomro argued that the Larkana district seats had unjustifiably been decreased from two to one. He claimed that the Sukkur district had an equal number of lawyers but has been allowed to retain two seats.

The SBC, meanwhile, stated in its comments that the PBC meeting that formulated the amendment was also attended by the vice-chairmen and chairmen of the executive committees of all the four provincial councils.

The ordinance has been validly promulgated in pursuance of the wishes of the legal fraternity, it said. The PBC vice-chief said the Punjab Bar Council, whose strength has been reduced from 101 to 75, was hard pressed for funds to hold its general body meetings. It had to spend Rs 30 million on travel and daily allowances of its members attending its meeting at Lahore during its last tenure.