1. On 25,10.2019 the Cabinet of Lahore High Court Bar Association through its Secretary Mr. Fiaz Ahmad Ranjha, Advocate filed a reference against Mr. Mujtaba Chaudhry , Advocate, citing that he had uploaded a "Shameful, indecent, untoward and rogue" message on Facebook in retaliation to the order passed by the Cabinet of Lahore High Court Bar Association regarding his application against the incident of 19.09.2019 (whereby Mr. Munsif Awan Advocate invited well known thugs/criminals/goons such as Zafar Supari and Kashif Zameer etc.) The Secretary further alleged that Mr. Mujtaba Chaudhry (advocate) threatened the worthy President of Lahore High Court Bar Association Mr. Hafeez-ur-Rehman Chau dhry, Advocate, through the said post. The complainant requested this Committee to take apprOpriate action against Mr. Mujtaba Chaudhry , Advocate, and to remove his name from the Roll of Advocates.
2. Notice was issued to the respondent Mr. Mujtaba Chaudhry , Advocate, who appeared before the Committee and 'submitted his written reply .
3. Mr. Mujtaba Chaudhry , respondent-advocate, argued that the words employed by him in the Facebook post do not target the Lahore High Court Bar Association as an Institution, nor do they target anybody in their personal capacity . His reply is reproduced as follows:- {{URDU TEXT}} As elucidated in the written complaint/reference filed against him by the Cabinet of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, Mr. Munsif Awan (Advocate) attracted scorn upon the Institution of advocacy in general and the Hon'ble Lahore High Court Bar Association in particular when he conducted a function in the Karachi Shuhada Hall and invited some criminal elements as chief guests. His act was not only condemned by the general public, but the leal fraternity also welcomed it with great resentment. What added insult to the misery was the fact that this entire episode took place under the nose of the elected cabinet of the Hon'ble Lahore High Court Bar Association and a general perception among the advocates was that the members of the Cabinet were also involved in the same. It was hard to digest that the Cabinet had failed so miserably in defending the dignity of the Bar Association.
Before I proceed to my humble submission, I'd like to express my belief in the Bar Association as an Institution and I consider the same as the mother of us advocate, and we the advocates are brothers in black. It is our moral as well as professional duty to protect .and foster the dignity of the Bar, just as a legitimate son would guard the honour of his mother . What happended on the 19th of September 2019 was an attempt to compromise the dignity of our mother institution and every torchbearer of the black coat should have stood up against such an act. I consider every Bar Association existing on the face of the earth in general and the Hon'ble Lahore High Court Bar Association in particular as a holy Institution and hence, I could not bear to silently witness the incident mentioned above. Instead of taking the law into my own hands and attempting any acct that would amount to a. breach of peace in the honourable premises of the Bar, I decided to adopt a legal way and employ the might of the pen, hence my application to the Hon'ble Bar Association. I expected that the Cabinet would feel equally injured by the incident and would hand down the culprits an exemplary punishment, but their decision on the matter shattered all hopes of justice that I had cultivated.
It is entirely tragic to observe that the incumbent Cabinet of the Hon'ble Lahore High Court Bar Association continues to tread upon the hopes and dreams of the devoted sons of the Bar like myself through their acts of vengeance, such as the reference against me in hand. I would borrow the words of Faiz to express myself here as: {{URDU TEXT}} In addition to this, I have repeatedly receiv ed concealed as well as open threats from various circles solely because I took a bold step for the sake of the dignity of my Hon'ble Bar. In this reply I want to state that I have serious apprehensions of damage, loss, and injury from the incumbent Cabinet of the Honourable Bar Association coupled with the persons that I accused in my application in general, and Mr. Fiaz Ahma d Ranjha, the Secretary of the Hon'ble Lahore High Court Bar Association in particular since it has frequently been communicated to me that they hold serious grudges against me. Hence, if any harm of any sort comes to me, the afore-mentioned persons shall be held responsible.
I would like to take this opportunity to express that the Bar Association is nursery , and the seniors engaged in the profession of advocacy are the care-takers of this Institution. It is their moral duty to grown and train the new- corners. What we learn from our elders today is what we shall practice tomorrow . Hence, I hope and pray that this worthy Committee rectifies what went unchecked previously .
I respectfully submit that:-
1. The complaint/reference filed against me is, unfortunately , not just grammatically flawed (which is quite unbecoming for the standards of the Lahore High Court Bar Association), but also factually inconsistent. The scribe of the reference has attempted to mislead this worthy Committee by stating in the fifth paragraph of the reference that Mr. Hafeez-ur-Rehman (President LHCBA) was present during the hearing of my complaint on 24.09.2019. I can verify on oath that during the entire duration of the hearing conducted on 24.09.2019 Mr. Hafeez-ur-Rehman did not show up in the Committee Room.
2. The complainant contends that I posted a "Shameful, indecent, untoward, and rogue" message on Facebook, "threatening" the President of the Hon'ble Lahore High Court Bar Association.
I would like to indulge this worthy Committee towards the same. The words that I used in my message were neither against anybody in their personal capacit y, nor were they meant to undermine the dignity of the holy institution of the honourable Bar Association in any manner , rather they reflected my core emotions with respect to the incident that took place and in turn, the way the Cabinet of the Honourable Bar tackled it. I wish to elucidate that whatever I expressed through social media or otherwise was due to my complete and utter disgust over the incident of 24.09.2019. I firmly believe in the honour of the Bar Association and I shall continu e my efforts in the best interest of the same. I stated it in my complaint to the Cabinet, I stated it during my arguments in the Committee Room, and I repeat here, that I consider the Honourable Bar Association as my mother and I am bound (by emotions as well as otherwise) to expend whatever is in my powers in order to protect the grandeur of this holy institution. {{URDU TEXT}} That being said, I would like to further indulge this Committee towards another face of the picture. Moreover , I would pray to this worthy Committee to question the following happenings:-
1. Why did the Cabinet of the Honourable Lahore High Court Bar Association take such a lenient view dealing with the matter in question and handed down a punishment that the culprit Mr. Munsif Awan (advocate) had himself suggested? What sort of justice is it that the accused is allowed to suggest a punishment for himself? Witnessing such an unexpected happening, I felt inspired to ask: {{URDU TEXT}}
2. Mr. Munsif Awan (advocate), during the proceedings in the Committee Room on 24.09.2019 three times, stated that neither did he know that one Mr. Zafar was being invited as a chief guest to the event, nor had he ever met him before 19.09.2019. Moreover , Mr. Munsif Awan (advocate) swore before the Cabinet of the Honourable Lahore High Court Bar Association that he had no prior acquaintance with Mr. Zafar or his activities and that he only saw him for the first time in his life on the stage of the Karachi Shuhada Hall during the event. The same was proved false by me when I showed the Secreta ry of the Hon'ble Lahore High Court Bar Association pictures from the Facebook profile of Mr. Munsif Awan (advocate) where he had publicly that Mr. Zafar would grace the occasion as chief guest/speaker . In addition to this, Mr. Munsif Awan, advocate had displayed huge flexes bearing pictures of Mr. Zafar along with some other persons. A copy of the same as documentary evidence is attached herewith.
3. Why did the Secretary of the Honourable Lahore High Court Bar Association not hold Mr. Munsif Awan, advocate accountable for this falsehood, rather why did he not proceed against him on the of fence of perjury?
4. The Secretary of the Honourable Lahore High Court Bar Association was acting as the judge in the matter , but he with the aid of a few other persons present in the Committee Room kept trying to persuade me (often in a threatening tone) to let it go and to pardon Mr. Munsif Awan advocate. In what part of the civilized world is a Judge observed to candidly favor a party during the proceedings? {{URDU TEXT}}
5. At the end of the proceedings, the Secretary of the Hon'ble Lahore High Court Bar Association disclosed to me that the Bar membership of the accused shall be suspended for a period of (15) days and during this period his entry to the Bar shall be barred. The same was typed in the order , but when the order was presented to; the Secretary of the Honourable Lahore High Court Bar Association for signatures, he refused to sign the same and asked me to come again the following day as he needed to consult the President of the Honourable Bar Association regarding the same. It is pertinent to mention here that the entire proceedings were conducted by the Secretary alone.
6. That when I finally received the order on the following day, it had been changed altogether , with no suspension or prohibition of entry to the Bar being mentioned.
Naturally , I felt cheated at the receipt of such a judgment.
7. The Secretary of the Honourable Lahore High Court Bar Association claimed that neither he, nor any other member of the Cabinet of the Honourable Lahore High Court Bar Association had a prior knowledge that the culprit had invited persons of bad character as chief guests to the event. That considered true, who allowed the organization of such an even in the Bar premises when the Cabinet had no knowledge of the same?
To draw a curtain over the discussion, I would reflect that the Bar Council is a holy institution and the Cabinet of the Bar Council, being an elected representative of the advocates is the custodian of this holy institution. It is the duty of the Cabinet to ensure that nobody dares attempt to malign the stature of the Bar .
That being said, should such a Cabinet that fails to protect the dignity of the house not be held accountable for such incompetence?
Would a reasonable of fice bearer still wish to hold of fice if such an act goes unchecked under his watch?
I adopted the profession of advocacy inspired by the greats in the likes of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Mama Muhammad Iqbal but the way this holy profession is, being maligned by non-professional elements/individuals unacquainted with the sanctity of the Bar fills me with agony . My heart bleeds to witness the blatant violations of the lawyers' code of conduct, and I am further pained to see such violations going unchecked.
Nevertheless, I am not going to lose hope . I have complete confidence in this worthy Committee and I am positive that the Punjab Bar Council shall continue to play its role in purging this professio n of the persona non grata that have crept into the ranks of the advocates, restoring the faith of the common advocates in this forum.
Moreover , I hope and pray that in the future, the Bar elects more reasonable, devout, and professional lawyers who elevate the standards of this profession rather than lowering the same.