- LHC terms lawyers’ attack as law of jungle
- Says defendants surely have come to fight a war
LAHORE, December 13: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday heard the PIC riot lawsuit, and termed the unfortunate attack on the hospital by lawyers as a culture of the jungle.
A two-member bench headed by Justice Ali Baqir Najafi heard four petitions seeking release of arrested lawyers involved in the attack on Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) on Dec 11.
Advocate Azam Nazir Tarar presented his arguments stating that police have no authority to torture anyone, and it is not like they have come to fight a war against India.
Justice Ali Baqir Najaf said How dare you attack a hospital? andexpressed anger and asserted that the defendants surely have come to fight a war. “?”
Justice Anwarul Haq asked the arrested lawyers to justify their actions, and added what if bar council was in the place of PIC, what steps must have been taken for them?
Responding to this, advocate Tarar stated: “We have condemned the incident on TV programs”. To which LHC’s judge said if advocate Tarar really considers it an incident. “You have no idea from what we all are suffering after hearing about this act,” he added.
Advocate Tarar continued saying that they do not have a bar leader who could have explained the incident. He also said that licenses of involved lawyers will be suspended.
Justice Najafi remarked that the bar council have black sheep in their flock. “The law of the jungle does not civilize a society, and what you have done is a culture of the jungle,” he said, adding that they will give a justifying verdict as they have taken the oath to protect the law.
The court sought a report from the CCPO on the arrest of the lawyers and ordered them to implement the decision regarding medical examination of the accused. The hearing was adjourned till Dec 16.
On Dec 11, a violent clash that erupted between hundreds of lawyers and doctors left three patients dead when the charged lawyers stormed into the Punjab Institute of Cardiology and broke windows of the emergency ward and several vehicles parked nearby.
Lawyers went “out of control” while holding batons and sticks and broke the emergency gate of the PIC.
Provincial Information and Culture Minister Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan was also beaten by lawyers when he tried to persuade them from “taking the law into their own hands.” An anti-terrorism court (ATC) Thursday sent eight arrested lawyers – who had yesterday stormed into the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) amid protest that turned violent – to jail on judicial remand for 14 days.
ATC Judge Abdul Qayyum Khan presided over the PIC riot case where scores of arrested lawyers were produced before the court amid tight security measures with their face covered. – Agencies
