LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry on Wednesday asked the Punjab Bar Council (PbBC) to cancel the practicing licence of Ajmal Mahmood advocate for misbehaving with the chief justice and using offensive language in his court. Per details, Ajmal appeared before a division bench headed by the LHC CJ in a NAB case against Mirza Sultan Muhammad.
It appeared that the lawyer came prepared to hurl insults at the CJ and NAB Prosecutor Haroonur Rashid, who was representing NAB in the case. As the hearing began, the lawyer started levelling allegations against the CJ and the prosecutor, stirring tension in the courtroom.
He alleged that the CJ and Haroon had personal affiliations, as Justice Ijaz used to be the Punjab advocate general, so there was little hope for justice for his client.
Soon after, the lawyer and Rashid indulged in a heated argument, with the chief justice intervening to calm the two down, asking them to respect the dignity of the court. CJ said the lawyer had used contemptuous language against the court in his plea, which amounted to contempt of court.
“I do not care about contempt proceedings and you can initiate proceedings if you want to,” the lawyer said. He uttered contemptuous remarks, forcing the chief justice to order him to “get out and leave the rostrum”.
However, the lawyer did not do so, until some other lawyers intervened and made him go out of the court. The CJ then ordered the LHC office to send a reference against the lawyer to PbBC for canceling his license. “Ajmal Mahmood doesn’t deserve to practice law due to his rude behaviour and disrespect for courts, so the PbBC is advised to cancel his licence after taking due disciplinary action against him,” the CJ observed.
CJ transferred the case to another LHC bench, saying he would not hear the case after allegation by the lawyer. As the CJ passed the order, Ajmal tried apologising, but perhaps a bit too late. However, sources said the LHC had not yet sent the reference to PbBC and might send it after Muharram holidays.
