CJP seeks replies from bar councils over poor drafting of petitions

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa has reprimanded a lawyer from Punjab over poor and vague drafting of a petition.

Hearing a case involving a dispute regarding bifurcation of a land in Punjab, Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa questioned the ability of lawyers in drafting petitions, particularly from Punjab.

The Supreme Court’s three-member bench, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa, conducted a hearing related to a case involving a dispute emanting from a land bifurcation in Punjab.

During the proceedings, the chief justice expressed his dissatisfaction with the vague content of the petition and chastised the petitioner’s lawyer for not providing clear details.

Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa raised the question: “When will Punjab’s lawyers learn to draft petitions?” He pondered whether all law colleges in Punjab should be shut down, emphasizing that an ad hoc writer typically drafts a petition, but the law does not allow it.”

He further inquired where it is written in the law that lawyers can only stand before the court and present arguments. It is the duty of the lawyer to draft a petition and file it after verification, he observed.

He added that Punjab witnesses the highest number of legal battles and lawyers’ strikes. Senior lawyers in Punjab frequently resort to strikes. He questioned how the right to strike became part of a lawyer’s privileges and pointed out that the whole world had moved forward, but here petitions are drafted through scribes.

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Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa remarked, “The entire system has been destroyed. Don’t law colleges in Punjab teach drafting?” He mentioned that even in remote areas of Balochistan, lawyers themselves draft petitions.

Afrasiab Iqbal, a lawyer, informed the court that he did not write the application in question. In response, the chief justice stated that through him, they were sending a message to all lawyers to prepare their cases.

The Supreme Court, upon noting inaccuracies in the drafting of petitions, issued notices to the Pakistan Bar Council and the Punjab Bar Council.

The court instructed the bar councils to submit written responses in this regard. The Supreme Court ourt also sought replies from the bar councils regarding the teaching of drafting in the law colleges of Punjab.

The hearing in the case has been adjourned for six weeks.