A Punjab Bar Council (PBC) tribunal on Saturday dealt with cases of 16 lawyers on allegations of possessing bogus degrees, and misconduct.
The tribunal was headed by Justice Sheikh Najam-ul-Hasan of the Lahore High Court while Zafar Mahmood Mughal and Muhammad Lehrasib Khan Gondal were the other members.
The tribunal suspended the licence of Zafar Ali Khan of Lahore till November 15- the next date of hearing- on account of three serious complaints lodged against him by Arshia Javaid, Muhammad Hussain and Malik Tariq Ali.
In another appeal against Rizwan Israr Razi of Gujrat, the tribunal directed controller Punjab University to hold an inquiry and identify university officials involved in the issuance of a bogus result card on the basis of which Punjab Law College had issued him a provisional certificate. The college principal was also directed to appear in person on the next date of hearing.
In another case, Civil Lines Lahore Circle DSP (Investigation) had been directed to appear and apprise the tribunal as to why proceedings had not been initiated against Mushtaq Ahmad Naeem of Toba Tek Singh who was declared a proclaimed offender by the investigation officer.
During proceedings, Anjum Sohail Maan of Sheikhupura confessed to holding bogus documents and requested the tribunal for a leniency.
The tribunal cancelled his licence and the certificate issued to him by the PBC. He was further ordered to pay a fine of Rs 15,000 to the PBC within a week and present the receipt before the tribunal on the next date of hearing.
The degree of another advocate, Ahsanullah from Layyah, was found bogus on verification by the Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) Deputy Controller of Examinations but the assistant controller who was present in court claimed it was valid. The deputy controller was directed to appear on the next date of hearing along with the record on the basis of which he declared the degree bogus. The tribunal also directed the controller of BZU to appear with original record of Sheikh Abdul Majeed of Lahore for verification of his degree.
In the case of Chaudhry Muhammad Asghar belonging to Chunian, the tribunal directed Principal Lahore Law College to appear with the record on the basis of which the college had issued him a provisional certificate.
Apart from these cases, the tribunal also heard complaints of professional misconduct filed against Muhammad Sajjad Butt, Tahir Naeem, Waqar Hanif Bhatti, Nasir Mahmood Javaid, Nasir Mahmood, Iftikar-ud-Din and Parvaiz Aslam Chaudhry, following which the session was adjourned till November 15.
