Litigants suffer as lawyers, judicial staffers continue boycott of courts

The atmosphere in the City Courts remained tense on Friday as lawyers and judicial staffers boycotted legal proceedings for the second consecutive day.

A protest by members of the legal fraternity against a district and sessions judge (East) had turned violent on Thursday after they clashed with judicial staffers on the court premises, leaving several injured. The Karachi Bar Association (KBA) had called for a boycott of court proceedings in protest against the judge over the release of a watchman. On Friday, a heavy contingent of police was deployed inside and at the entrances to the judicial complex to deal with any untoward incident. The lawyers and judicial staffers stayed away from the courts, adding to the miseries of litigants who usually face adjournments and other issues in their pursuit of justice.

KBA president Ashfaq Gilal told The News that though some progress on their demands had been made, the boycott of legal proceedings would continue today (Saturday). The demands include the removal of the judge and the registration of an FIR against the judicial staff.

The KBA announced the strike after the watchman, Muhammad Faisal, was set free by the City Courts police on the instructions of the judge. According to the lawyers’ body, Faisal was involved in “surveillance of advocates, extending threats and motorcycle theft”.

PBC disappointed

The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Friday expressed its utter disappointment over the unfortunate and unwanted incidents that had occurred in the City Courts, Karachi, wherein a trivial scuffle between lawyers and a security guard on a car parking issue turned into an ugly fight.

Issuing a statement on the incident, PBC vice chairman Hafeez-ur-Rehman Chaudhry and executive committee chairman Pir Muhammad Masood Chishti said the most concerning fact of the unfortunate episode was the immediate actions of the district judge (East) as those actions worsened the already grim and miserable situation.

They said that it had also been reported that police deployed on the premises of the City Courts had also taken undue advantage of the situation and attacked lawyers with batons and teargas shells at the behest of the judge and his staff at a time when three district judges of several districts were present in the building.

They said that had the judge opted for a reasonable way for amicable and peaceful resolution of the matter by giving the opportunity of proper hearing to both the parties, the disturbing state of affairs might have been avoided.

They emphasised the need for peaceful and amicable resolution of the matter, extended all-out support to the lawyers that became injured as a result of the entire episode and assured them that all efforts would be made to put the culprits behind bars. The PBC vowed that the lawyers across the country would chalk out their future course of action in case no prompt action was taken against the culprits.