LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan on Tuesday suspended the bar membership of Irfan Khitchi, who was elected as the Lahore Bar Association vice-president on the Cantonment area courts’ seat, till the final decision of the Punjab University Syndicate about his LLB degree.

Earlier, the university’s counsel submitted a report regarding the verification of the bar representatives’ degrees. A counsel for the LBA’s leader argued that the university cancelled the degree of Mr Khitchi without hearing his point of view.

PU vice chancellor and controller of examinations were also present in the court.

In this case, the CJ had directed the university to get criminal cases registered against its employees involved in stealing record of the degrees.

The university had also been directed to hold inspection of the degrees of the elected members of the Punjab Bar Council from 1999 to date, and the lawyers who contested election of district and tehsil bar associations in Punjab during the last five years.

Ms Gulzar Butt, a senior member of the bar, filed a petition seeking verification of thec academic degrees of lawyers, especially those contesting elections.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2021