LAHORE, Nov 7: A seven-member bench of the Lahore High Court adjourned for an indefinite time suo motu proceedings into locking of courtrooms after the Punjab government submitted details of the action taken against the responsible.
The bench had directed the chief secretary, the home secretary and the inspector general of police to take strict action against “the miscreants who locked courtrooms” in the lower judiciary on Nov 4 and report to the court.
The administrative committee of the LHC had formed the bench consisting of Justice Mian Najamuz Zaman, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Abdul Shakoor Parracha, Justice Nasim Sikandar, Justice M Bilal Khan, Justice Syed Shabbar Raza Rizvi and Justice Maulvi Anwarul Haq in response to the locking of lower courts.
In a report submitted to the court, Additional Advocate-General Hanif Khatana said since court officials refused to give details of the incident in Lahore, the police had to lodge an FIR on the complaint of one of its officials. “Likewise, an FIR has also been recorded on the report of the Okara Sessions Court superintendent,” the report said.
Similarly, FIRs regarding the incidents at Chiniot and Shakargarh had also been lodged on the statements of police officials at duty at the relevant place.
According to a statement released by the LHC public relations officer (PRO): “The advocate general assured the full bench that foolproof arrangements have been made at civil and sessions courts throughout the province to prevent any such incident.” The chief secretary, the home secretary and the IGP also gave the court similar assurance, the statement said. “After this assurance, the bench adjourned the proceedings for indefinite time,” it concluded.
The information provided to the bench neither had any details of the names nor the number or the police stations where the cases were lodged.
Kurd: Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Ali Ahmad Kurd has said the lawyers will be forced to lay a siege around the Lahore High Court in case if it takes any adverse action against them for locking courtrooms.
He was talking to reporters during his visit to the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) on Friday.
He said the lawyers were running a peaceful movement and wanted to keep it that way. He, however, advised the lawyers to wait for National Coordination Council’s decision before locking the courtrooms. After spending about an hour at the LHCBA, Kurd left for Islamabad to attend a Pakistan Bar Council meeting.