The Lahore High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Pakistan attorney general and Punjab advocate general to assist in proceedings in a petition challenging the authority of the LHC Administrative Committee to reverse orders given by a former chief justice. Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhary issued the law officials notice for arguments on whether the powers of the LHC Administrative Committee superseded those of the chief justice.
The next hearing date would be fixed after the two law officials are served notices. The court was hearing a petition filed by Johnson Bernard, an LHC official, contending that the LHC Administrative Committee did not have the authority to decline and review powers of the chief justice and stop his two advance increments.
Sarfraz Cheema and Saiful Malook, pleading the case of Johnson Bernard, said the LHC committee could not review or cancel the orders of a chief justice, thus the committee acted illegally, without lawful authority and with malafide intent to deny the petitioner his increments. His counsels said that in 1997, then LHC chief justice Sheikh Riaz had awarded two advance increments to his private secretaries, including the petitioner and Rana Sharif.
However, after chief justice Sheikh Riaz was elevated to the Supreme Court, the matter was put before the LHC Administrative Committee, which reviewed the matter and rejected his order for increments.
SHO to respond to Railways ‘murder’: Additional District and Sessions Judge Munir Ahmad on Wednesday sought parawise comments from the Mughalpura Railway Police station house officer (SHO) for November 1, on a petition filed by Azhar Siddique seeking registration of a murder case against Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, the railways secretary and Railways GM, under Section 300 of the Pakistan Penal Code, for the death of a Railways pensioner, Mahmood Khan, during the protest against delay in issuance of pensions.
Siddique contended that he was a lawyer by profession and had been working to secure human rights. He came to know through the media that a Railways pensioner had died on the morning of October 26, during the protest against the delay in release of pensions.
Siddique demanded the court issue directions for the registration of a murder case against the aforementioned persons, who he claimed were directly involved in the death of Mahmood Khan. After hearing the contention, the judge sought parawise comments from Mughalpura Railway Police SHO for November 1.
