PBC elections: Two Bar members move LHC against proposed amendment
The change includes a candidate's eligibility requirement of enrollment as a high court advocate from five to ten years besides the condition of having handled at least 30 individual cases.
The petitioners candidates for the PBC elections Fahad Akram Bhatti and Imran Fazal contended that the bar council elections are scheduled to be held in November this year and candidates have already been running their election campaigns.
They said that the government is introducing new eligibility requirements for contesting candidates, which is not appropriate at this stage.
The petitioner asked the court to restrain the implementation of the new eligibility criteria for candidates in the upcoming bar council elections.
Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) President Malik Asif Nissoana also rejected the amendments approved to the Legal Practitioners and Bar Council Election Rules.
In a statement, he said the PBC chairman already issued a code of conduct for the upcoming elections.
Therefore, he said, no amendments should be made to the rules.
He demanded that any amendments to the law should be postponed until after the bar council's elections.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
17 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Don't list acquitted persons in police record: LHC
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has declared that continued mention of a First Information Report (FIR) against an individual who has been acquitted by a court is unlawful and infringes on the person's dignity and fundamental rights. In the judgment, Justice Abher Gul Khan ruled that once an individual has been acquitted and the order has attained finality, public authorities cannot continue to associate that person with the case. He added that doing so undermines the acquittal, the presumption of innocence, and basic principles of fairness and dignity. The case was brought by Abdul Rehman Faryad, who sought the removal of an FIR reference from his police character certificate despite being acquitted of kite flying charges by a court. He argued that the continued mention of the FIR, particularly in a document required for overseas travel, effectively portrayed him as a criminal despite a court's clearance. Although a police character certificate was eventually issued to him on March 13, 2025, it still referenced FIR 1254/2024 registered at Nawan Kot Police Station, Lahore. After an application to the Home Secretary went unanswered, the petitioner approached the LHC, which initially directed the government to respond within 15 days. When this failed to happen, he filed a contempt petition. "Once an accused has been acquitted by a competent court of law, he is to be considered, in the eye of law, entirely absolved of the allegations levelled against him," the judge stated. Justice Gul ordered the Home Secretary to issue a fresh police character certificate to the petitioner, omitting all references to the FIR and accurately reflecting his acquittal and the absence of any criminal liability.
Express Tribune
19 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Don't list acquitted persons in police records: LHC
Listen to article The Lahore High Court (LHC) has declared that continued mention of a First Information Report (FIR) against an individual who has been acquitted by a court is unlawful and infringes on the person's dignity and fundamental rights. In the judgment, Justice Abher Gul Khan ruled that once an individual has been acquitted and the order has attained finality, public authorities cannot continue to associate that person with the case. He added that doing so undermines the acquittal, the presumption of innocence, and the basic principles of fairness and dignity. The case was brought by Abdul Rehman Faryad, who sought the removal of an FIR reference from his police character certificate despite being acquitted of kite flying charges by a court. He argued that the continued mention of the FIR, particularly in a document required for overseas travel, effectively portrayed him as a criminal despite a court's clearance. Although a police character certificate was eventually issued to him on March 13, 2025, it still referenced FIR 1254/2024 registered at Nawan Kot Police Station, Lahore. After an application to the Home Secretary went unanswered, the petitioner approached the LHC, which initially directed the government to respond within 15 days. When this failed to happen, he filed a contempt petition. Authorities later responded by citing Police Rules, stating that FIR records must be preserved for 60 years and stored digitally under Rule 24.5 of the Police Rules, 1934, and its 2024 Punjab amendment. They argued that while the FIR could not be deleted, his status had been updated in the Police Station Record Management System to reflect the acquittal. However, the court found this insufficient. Justice Gul noted that while internal record-keeping for administrative purposes is lawful, such records must not be used in a manner that prejudices an individual's rights. 'Once an accused has been acquitted by a competent court of law, he is to be considered, in the eye of the law, entirely absolved of the allegations levelled against him,' the judge stated. Justice Gul ordered the Home Secretary to issue a fresh police character certificate to the petitioner, omitting all references to the FIR and accurately reflecting his acquittal and the absence of any criminal liability.
Express Tribune
6 days ago
- Express Tribune
Chinese woman's khula takes legal twist
A case filed by a Chinese woman seeking divorce (khula) from her Pakistani husband has taken a new twist after conflicting decisions from the high court and a lower court, raising questions over whether she can legally obtain khula in Pakistan, who will get custody of their 12-year-old daughter, and whether the woman will be granted a visa to stay in the country until the matter is resolved. According to court documents, Chinese national Mir Guli married Shah Zeb, a trader from Charsadda, in China in 2011. A year later, she gave birth to a daughter, Sofia. Mir Guli claims that her husband, without informing her, registered Sofia's record with NADRA in Pakistan, effectively revoking her Chinese nationality, but did not register Mir Guli as his wife. Distressed by her husband's behaviour, she filed for khula in a Pakistani family court. Her counsel, Supreme Court Advocate Saeed Yousaf Khan, said the case took a major turn when Shah Zeb's legal team argued before the family court that since the marriage took place in China and was registered there, Pakistani courts lacked jurisdiction to decide on the matter. However, Justice Sajid Mehmood Sethi of the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court ruled that the case could indeed be heard and decided in Pakistan where the wife is residing. The judge directed the lower court to hear the matter on a daily basis, keeping in view the woman's visa status, and instructed the Ministry of Interior's visa section to review her case. Despite this, Family Court Judge Taimoor Afzal dismissed Mir Guli's khula plea on jurisdictional grounds on the same day the high court declared the case admissible. An appeal has now been filed before the Sessions Judge, along with a separate petition for custody of 12-year-old Sofia, who is currently living with her father.
