LAHORE, Oct 1: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday ordered issue of fresh notices to the attorney general and the Punjab advocate general on a writ petition against the alleged interference of President Musharraf and Governor Khalid Maqbool in the general election.
The court ordered issue of fresh notices as both the attorney general and the advocate general failed to appear in response to the notices issued on the writ petition filed by Punjab People’s Lawyers Forum president Mian Hanif Tahir on Tuesday. The case will now come up for hearing on Oct 3.
The petitioner has accused the president and the governor of open interference in the electoral process by issuing statements and filing references against the Pakistan People’s Party leadership and favouring the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam).
LFO: The High Court has sent the files of amended writ petition challenging the validity of the Legal Framework Order and the contempt of court application to the chief justice for transfer to another bench.
The judge decided to send the case to the chief justice after the petitioner Pakistan Lawyers Forum’s counsel, A.K. Dogar, appeared before him sometime after arguments in the case and requested him to issue a notice to the chief election commissioner. The judge declined the request observing that it was necessary.
The hearing of the case was at a preliminary stage. The counsel submitted that he had been arguing the case for the past 14 days and had an impression that the case had been admitted for hearing.
RANA IJAZ CASE: The LHC on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of a petition filed by Punjab Law Minister Rana Ijaz Ahmad due to the failure of the attorney general to submit comments on it.
The minister has challenged the decision of the Punjab Bar Council to cancel his membership, and prayed the court to direct the attorney general not to denotify him as a Bar member.
INQUIRY: The Lahore High Court Chief Justice, Iftikhar Husain Chaudhry, has directed the district and sessions judge, Sialkot, to hold an inquiry into a robbery incident alleged to have been committed by policemen and submit a report to him.
Petitioner Shaukat Ali submitted that three masked men looted Rs6,000 in cash and ornaments from his relatives, Farzana and Kausar, on Sept 9 in Jatwal, Sialkot. Villagers chased the robbers and overpowered one of them who turned out to be a policeman. Further inquiries revealed that his other two accomplices were also policemen.
He further submitted that the robber overpowered by the villagers were handed over to the Qila Deedar Singh police but no action had so far been taken against him.
REPORT SOUGHT: The High Court has directed the Jhang SSP to submit a report into the allegation of stealing a herd of buffaloes against an invalid old man after holding an inquiry.
The court issued the orders on the petition filed by Shahbaz of the Kandiwal police station, Sargodha district. He submitted that his father, Jagdev, had been bedridden for the past 10 years. Bhagtanwala police from the neighbouring Sargodha district came to his village and took away his 14 buffaloes along with the milch cattle of other farmers.
When he along with other villagers visited the police station for the return of their cattle, they were informed that the same had been distributed among the people who had lodged complaints in respect of the theft of their cattle under a directive of the governor conveyed by the CIA SP.
The court directed the Sargodha SSP to hold a probe into the matter and submit a report, but he deputed a DSP to hold an inquiry.
The Sargodha CIA SP appeared in the court, and stated that the police had found Jagdev driving away a herd of stolen buffaloes. The man had managed to escape but the buffaloes had been taken into custody and returned to the owners.
The court directed the Jhang SSP to hold an inquiry after registering a case. The inquiry report should be submitted before the court and the buffaloes of the petitioner be returned.
CJ VISITS BAR: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Husain Chaudhry and some judges visited the LHC Bar on Tuesday.
LHC Bar Association president Chaudhry Muzammal Khan, secretary Shahid Mahmood Bhatti and other lawyers welcomed the CJ and the judges on arrival at the Bar in connection with the construction of an auditorium and expansion of Bar rooms and library facilities.
The CJ and judges went around the Bar and had a cup of tea with the lawyers in the lounge after inaugurating a new Islamic book section of the library.
LHCBA leaders later described the visit of the CJ and the judges as a healthy development in the relations between the Bar and the judiciary, and expressed the hope that it would help resolve the problems being faced by the lawyers. They urged the CJ to convince those in power to restore the grants of Bar councils and associations.
TRANSFER: The chief justice has ordered a mutual transfer of two lady civil judges.
Miss Samina Hayat has been transferred from the Aiwan-i-Adal to Lahore Cantonment sub-division vice Mrs. Samina Ijaz Cheema transferred from Lahore Cantonment to Aiwan-i-Adal.