ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court (SC) granted status quo on Friday on a petition of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) secretary and additional secretary who were earlier de-seated by the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on account of ‘misconduct’.
A division bench of the apex court led by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar heard the SCBA petition.
However, a representative of the PBC believes that the grant of status quo does not means that its order against the office bearers stands suspended.
SCBA President Abid Zuberi and Secretary Muqtedir Akhtar Shabbir had filed a petition in the top court, pleading against the show-cause notices issued by the PBC to SCBA officials. The association requested that the top court declare the show-cause notices null and void.
According to a press release issued by the SCBA, the SC after hearing the matter at some length ordered to maintain status quo.
Meanwhile, notices were issued to the respondents, which include the PBC and Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan, and the matter was fixed again for May 9.
During the hearing, the SCBA stated that “illegal orders and show cause notices issued by the PBC were in contravention of the law and detrimental to the interests of justice, rule of law, supremacy of the Constitution and against the independence, dignity and honour of the judiciary and the Bar Association involving a matter of public importance for the enforcement of fundamental rights”.
The association’s statement maintained that the SCBA “stood for the rule of law, constitution and welfare of the members of SCBA”.
Petition and background
In its plea, the SCBA pointed out that Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar was also a member of the PBC and claimed that he was exerting his influence over the council to further the agenda of his political party.
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“Given the fact that such political figures are members of the [PBC] and have hijacked [it] in order to further their own political agenda, the petitioners have no confidence in the respondents’ ability to conduct themselves in an independent and fair manner; and the same is in violation of the petitioners’ fundamental rights as enshrined under Articles 10A, 17, 18, 19, 19A and 25A r/w 4 of the Constitution,” the petition read.
It claimed in the petition that the PBC was “favouring” the government and the show-cause notices were issued to the SCBA office-bearers on political grounds.
The SCBA maintained that the PBC’s show-cause notices were illegal, extrajudicial and contrary to fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression as enshrined under Article 19 of the Constitution.
The SCBA also claimed that its office-bearers were being targeted simply by virtue of being members of the Professional Group that contested elections against the other one, which had now “captured” the PBC to further “its own nefarious designs”.
“[They] are harassing and victimising the petitioners for merely fulfilling their obligations as members of the [SCBA],” the association contended.
The association nominated the PBC and its executive committee as respondents in the petition.
The petition was filed through Advocate Hamid Khan.
Later, matters took a turn for the worse when the PBC removed the SCBA secretary and additional secretary Shakeel-ur-Rehman from their posts.
It assigned the additional charge of the SCBA secretary to the association’s finance secretary Hifza Bokhari.
In a statement, the PBC said the SCBA secretary and additional secretary had violated the Legal Practitioner and Bar Council Act.
Source link: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2415247/sc-grants-status-quo-in-scba-plea-against-removal-of-officials-by-pbc