The Lahore High Court (LHC) while dismissing a petition praying to curtail tenure of Punjab Bar Council from five years to one year and fined the petitioner rupees 15,000. The court while dismissing the petition observed that the court could not curtail the tenure as it could be done through legislation and hence lawyers should avoid filing such petitions.
The court observed that such frivolous petitions caused burden on court work and a hurdle in dispensation of justice. The petitioner, Mehmood Khan through his counsel Tariq Aziz contended that the elections of all the bar associations across the country were held on yearly basis but the Bar Councils were elected for a term of five years. He pointed out that even the Supreme Court Bar Association in 2003 had reduced it tenure from two years to one year.
He said General Zia-ul-Haq (Retd) had enhanced its tenure from four to five years by making an amendment in the legal practitioners and Bar Councils Act 1973 through an ordinance. He said such ordinance was never validated through 8th amendment. He prayed that fixing of tenure to five years was a discriminatory move and it might be curtailed to one year.
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