Black coats misbehaving again

In a shocking incident on Wednesday, lawyers in Islamabad's district courts locked the doors of 40 courtrooms, confining several judges in their chambers because a civil judge was reluctant to issue contempt notice to Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman for demolishing lawyers' chambers constructed on a football ground. The CDA had taken notice of encroachments on the area residents' complaints. A press report points out that the lawyers have been making encroachments right and left. They have constructed their chambers on footpaths, litigants' sitting area and almost every open space in front of the courtrooms. Last month, some of them razed the district courts security walls as well to erect their own structures there. It took a lot of discussion and the involvement of the Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Mohammad Anwar Khan Kasi for the black coats to agree to vacate the area in front of courtrooms. Preceding details make it plain that lawyers are in the wrong.
CDA and district authorities in several other cities have been demolishing encroachments on public space. There is no reason why members of the legal community should be treated any different; in fact they are expected to demonstrate a greater responsibility to abide by the rules. Unfortunately, however, what happened in Islamabad is not the first case of lawyers acting aggressively. They seem to have drawn wrong lessons from the success of the movement for the restoration of judiciary, which was inspired by a higher notion of rule of law. Many among them have come to see that as a licence to challenge everyone using uncouth means. In one instance, a lawyer threw a shoe at a civil judge for refusing to grant bail to his client. Another slapped a presiding judge for some similar reason leading to protest resignations by fellow judges. They even beat up an officer of the fearsome Punjab Police on the Lahore High Court premises. Black coats have also been attacking journalists for covering such incidents. Bar councils have done little to stop a growing aggressive trend among their members.
The bench and the bar are expected to work in harmony for better administration of justice. But putting pressure by members of the bar on judges to deliver orders to their liking comprises a grave threat to the administration of justice. Judges cannot be expected to do justice in the face of lawyers' menacing behaviour. They, of course, cannot deal with such situations on their own. Black coats' bullying and beatings on the court premises must come to a stop. Towards that end, leadership of various bar associations have a special responsibility to ensure the lawyers act in a civilised manner. The administration must also ensure that those resorting to violence get the punishment that they deserve. In the present case, all those involved in locking in the judges need to be brought to justice so that they think twice before taking any such step in future.