ISLAMABAD: President of Lahore High Court (LHC) Bar’s Multan chapter, Sher Zaman Qureshi, on Wednesday submitted an apology in the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan in a case with regard to misconduct with a judge.
The apex court was taking up Qureshi’s appeal against his arrest warrants and cancelling his licence by the LHC in the contempt of court case against him after allegedly misbehaving with a judge.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had himself formed a five-member larger bench and heard the case.
During the court proceedings today, the chief justice queried the motive behind Zaman’s failure to turn up before the LHC and remarked that it would have been better for the honour of institutions if he had appeared.
“If prime minister of a country can appear before the court, why can’t a lawyer,” Justice Nisar remarked.
On the occasion, Qureshi’s counsel contended that his client had not misbehaved with the judge and neither engaged in any brawl.
He said that the brawl on July 24 erupted after his client Qureshi and other members of the association left the court room.
Hearing the arguments, the chief justice remarked that the case has not brought victory or defeat to any party and summoned the detailed report of the incident from registrar Lahore High Court after adjourning the hearing till till third week of October.
It merits to mention here that a ruckus had erupted in the courtroom on July 24 when Qureshi and other members of the association had gone to the court during a hearing in the case of rebuilding a demolished structure near Vehari Chowk.
Qureshi had allegedly passed some inciting comments on which Justice Qasim ordered him to leave the courtroom. However, this agitated some members of the lawyers’ body.
Separately on August 21, a large number of lawyers went on rampage after LHC chief justice Mansoor Ali Shah ordered police to arrest and produce Qureshi on the following day in a contempt of court case against him and another lawyer Qaiser Abbas Kazmi.
The situation took a turn for worse when heavy contingents of police stopped protesting lawyers from entering into the courtroom where a bench headed by LHC Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah was seized with the hearing of a contempt of court case against LHCBA Multan president Sher Zaman Qureshi.
Enraged lawyers pelted stones on the personnel of the anti-riot police unit, forcing them to fire tear gas shells and use water cannons to scatter them.
