Lawless lawyers

Lawyers were at it again. Taking the law into their own hands seems to have become an ongoing practice and their favourite pastime. Recently, they chose Faisalabad as the arena to assert their legal prowess or muscle power, if you will. The irony is that those who are expected to maintain the sanctity of their profession are the ones who taint it.

Footage that shows a group of lawyers, led by their senior donning a Jinnah cap, forcing open the deputy commissioner’s office door, has gained attention on social media. At the time, the DC was busy conducting an official meeting. But the lawyers were impatient. They broke down the door and stormed into the office. What next? They roughed up the deputy commissioner in the presence of the attendees at the meeting, including women officials. If this isn’t the form of conduct that is unbecoming of the supposedly honourable men who are expected to practice law and abide by it too, what is?

After ransacking the DC’s office, the lawyers blocked roads and burnt tyres. Their demand was to establish a bench of the Lahore High Court in Faisalabad. Only the protesting lawyers knew how the deputy commissioner could help set up a high court bench. The group was reportedly led by a candidate who was contesting for the Faisalabad bar’s elections that are to be held soon. He wanted to prove his mettle and succeeded in doing so.

A district is an important administrative unit that is headed by a deputy commissioner. In the office of the deputy commissioner vests the state’s authority. When a group of protesters vandalises that office and roughs up the officer of the state who holds that post, does it not amount to an attempt to challenge the state’s authority? Could any group of protesters dare to undermine the state’s authority and wantonly humiliate the DC? Only the protesting lawyers could claim such ‘credit’. However, this form of hooliganism by lawyers isn’t the first of its kind. Quite frequently, judges of the lower courts have been locked up in their courts and policemen who are on duty outside the courts have been beaten up. In some cases, even the litigants haven’t been spared the wrath of angry lawyers.

In December last year, lawyers damaged the newly-inaugurated judicial complex in Multan. The complex had been constructed through a loan granted by the Asian Development Bank under the Access to Justice Programme. Under the pretext of “lack of facilities”, lawyers broke doors, windows, and furniture at the complex. No serious action was taken against the culprits responsible for damaging the complex. If you ask sober-minded lawyers about such acts of hooliganism committed by their colleagues, many of them will view them with disdain. It is believed that lawyers with either fake degrees or no degrees at all exhibit such unruly behaviour. They only possess black coats and neckties.

Lawyers have gained such a reputation that they can barge into any public or private office unhindered, unchecked, and unquestioned. In addition, they know how to get things done. An anecdote can help explain this point. I was unable to get a driving licence made and asked a friend who is also a lawyer about the process of obtaining one without any hassle.

How did he manage to get the licence? He simply said: “I walked into the office of the licensing official and walked out with the card in hand”. Was it that easy, I asked? “Yes, [if] you [are wearing] a black coat,” said my friend. Could I borrow his coat for a day, I asked ingratiatingly. “No, I can’t be a party to adding another fake lawman to the existing list,” my principled friend replied curtly.

The writer is a freelance columnist based in Lahore.

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