Judges in Pakistan's Pattoki stop work after Bar Association's president misbehaves with colleagues
Dec 05, 2020
Lahore [Pakistan], December 6 : All the judicial officers posted in Kasur's Pattoki tehsil courts on Friday stopped working and applied for a 10-day leave in protest against the alleged misbehaviour and abusive conduct of the president of the local bar association with their colleagues, including a female judge.
A joint application for leave written by the ten judges to the Kasur district and sessions judge also narrated the whole incident that occurred in the courtrooms of civil judges Mahjabeen and Khalid Mahmood Warraich, reported Dawn.
"We decided to stop working as the authorities took no action against the bar leader for his misconduct," said a civil judge.
The judge also disclosed that the judicial officers working in the courts were very disappointed and dejected over the incidents of the lawyers' misconduct and were not inclined to serve at the sub-division.
According to Dawn, on December 2, Pattoki Tehsil Bar Association President Mudassar Naeem Bhatti, allegedly under the influence of liquor, entered the courtroom of Civil Judge Mahajabeen and started hurling abuses at her besides threatening her with dire consequences, said the application jointly signed by several additional districts and sessions judges.
Later, the bar president allegedly entered the court of civil judge Warraich and used abusive language.
The application stated that many senior members of the bar watched the CCTV footage of Bhatti's conduct but refused to take any formal action against him except verbal condemnation.
The judges have sought 10-day earned leave from December 5 to 15.
Dawn further reported that recently several judicial officers, including some females working in Punjab, also filed complaints with the authority against the incidents of the lawyers' misconduct and pointed out lack of action against the offenders.
A civil judge, Syed Jahanzeb Bokhari, also went on a long leave in protest over lack of action by relevant authorities on his complaint against physical torture by Lahore Bar Association Secretary Malik Sultan and others.
