LAHORE: The district bar and bench clashed here on Monday when judges resisted lawyers who were protesting against District and Sessions Judge Zawar Ahmad Sheikh. The lawyers pelted the judges who came to the help of their chief with stones and demanded transfer of judge Zawar Sheikh.

Reacting to the incident, at least 120 judicial officers, including civil judges and additional sessions judges, went on a 15-day leave and protested against what they called lawyers’ aggression. The Lahore High Court condemned the lawyers’ behaviour and said Mr Zawar Sheikh would not be transferred.

The district and sessions judge granted the leave to judges and also wrote a letter to the LHC registrar, complaining about the humiliation and harassment suffered by judges. He said that the lawyers’ behaviour had compelled the judges not to hold courts.

He said that police be asked to present the accused in courts in adjoining districts to let the legal process continue.

However, the row was resolved in the evening after talks between a lawyers’ delegation and Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry, senior puisne judge of the high court.

Justice Ijaz had invited Lahore Bar Association president Sajid Bashir and senior lawyers for talks to resolve the conflict.

According to the registrar’s office, the lawyers called off their strike and the leave of judicial officers was cancelled.

The judges will hold their courts as usual, but the D&SJ will work at the high court for a few days.

It all started in the morning when a group of lawyers led by the LBA president barged into the court of judge Zawar Sheikh and forced him out of the court. They locked the courtroom.

The lawyers, who were demanding transfer of the judge because of his alleged misbehaviour, had earlier asked the judge not to hold court and threatened to remove him from the courtroom.

Judges of the district judiciary stopped their work and arrived at the sessions court to rescue their chief from the lawyers.

The judges had announced on Saturday that they would defend the judge and termed the lawyers’ protest unjustified and unprofessional.

The lawyers chanted slogans against the sessions judge and other judges, calling them ‘property dealers’.

Judges were also heard shouting in response to lawyers’ slogans.

A heavy contingent of police reached the place and cordoned off the court. After talking to lawyers, police took the judges out of the court’s premises in two mini-buses and police vehicles.

A group of young lawyers hurled abuses and threw glass bottles on judges, causing minor injuries to some of them and damaging their vehicles.

The judicial officers reached the LHC where the senior puisne judge convened an emergency meeting at the Punjab Judicial Academy.

The lawyers’ act of violence was condemned at the meeting and it was decided that the sessions judge would not be transferred.

It is learnt that Justice Ijaz took serious notice of lawyers’ protest against the judge and said their illegal demand could not be accepted.

Justice Ijaz observed that a few weeks ago the same lawyers were praising the D&SJ, but all of a sudden they had started protesting against him which appeared to be part of a planned vilification campaign.

A civil judge alleged that the lawyers had launched the protest when their demands relating to recruitment being made in the lower judiciary were not accepted. He accused LBA’s leaders of collecting millions of rupees from candidates to get them appointed.

Addressing a press conference, the LBA chief refuted the allegation.

Mr Bashir said the D&SJ was not the appointing authority and the high court was monitoring the recruitment of the lower-cadre staff.

He insisted that the lawyers were protesting against misconduct of the judge after having made several complaints to the LHC chief justice.

He said the media had witnessed how judges had hurled abuses on lawyers. He denied that any lawyer had manhandled judges.

The LHC Bar Association, at its general house meeting in the morning, also supported the protest of the LBA and demanded immediate transfer of judge Zawar Sheikh.

Courtesy by dawn.com