Lahore High Court

Lahore High Court
عدالتِ عالیہ لاہور
Lahore High Court logo
Lahore High Court Building
Established21 March 1882; 142 years ago (1882-03-21)
Jurisdiction Punjab
LocationPrincipal Seat: Lahore-54000
Circuit Benches: Bahawalpur, Multan and Rawalpindi
Composition methodJudicial Commission of Pakistan
Authorized byConstitution of Pakistan
Appeals toSupreme Court of Pakistan
Appeals fromDistrict Courts of Punjab
Judge term lengthTill 62 years of age
Number of positions60
Websitelhc.gov.pk
Chief Justice of Lahore High Court
CurrentlyMalik Shehzad Ahmed Khan
Since7th March 2024

The Lahore High Court (Urdu: عدالتِ عالیہ لاہور) is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882.[1] The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is in Lahore, but there are benches in three other cities of the province: Rawalpindi, Multan and Bahawalpur.[2]

A proposal was sent by lawyers to set up new high court benches in Faisalabad, Sialkot, D.G.Khan and Gujranwala divisions but full court of Lahore High Court turned down this request.[3]

History[edit]

Creation[edit]

In 1849, the East India Company defeated the Sikh Empire and assumed control of administration within the Punjab. A Board of Administration was constituted and the Punjab was divided into Divisions, Districts and Tehsils. The Divisions were controlled by Commissioners, Districts by Deputy Commissioners and Tehsils by an Assistant and Extra Assistant Commissioners.[4]

The Board of Administration consisted of Sir Henry Lawrence, John Lawrence and Charles Grenville Mansel[5]

Chief Court of the Punjab Lahore High Court[edit]

Lahore High Court in the 1880s

In 1858 the Punjab, along with the rest of British India, came under the direct rule of the British crown and decisions with regard to administration and justice were now made under the authority of the monarch, Queen Victoria.[6] By 1864, a proliferation of court cases necessitated an expansion to the judicial structure in the province. The Punjab Courts Act, (XIX of 1865) introduced seven grades of courts, combining judicial and administrative functions and claiming jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases. The Court of Tehsildar was the lowest court, whilst the Court of the Judicial Commissioner became the highest court in the land.[7]

Over time, as appeals to the Chief Court greatly increased, later Acts namely the Punjab Courts Act, (XVII of 1877) and Punjab Courts Act, (XVIII of 1884) repealed earlier Acts and restated the law regarding the courts' constitution, powers and jurisdiction.[5] Additional judges were appointed, and greater finality was granted to the decisions of the lower appellate courts.[5] By 1884, there were four classes of courts subordinate to the Chief Court, namely the Divisional Court, the Court of the District Judge, the Court of the Subordinate Judge, the Court of Munsif.[8]

Lahore High Court[edit]

On 1 October 1882, the Chief Court of the Punjab Court was elevated to the status of a Lahore High Court, becoming known as Lahore High Court, King-Emperor George V also appointed a Chief Justice and six puisne justices, and declared the Court's jurisdiction over the Punjab and Delhi provinces.[5]

The Government of India Act, 1935 removed the barrier that the Chief Justice must be a Barrister Judge and opened the position to Civilian Judges. An age limit of 60 years was set for High Court Judges.[5]

By virtue of the Government of India (High Court Judges) Order, 1937, a maximum number of Judges for the various High Courts in India was fixed. In each case the number so stated was exclusive of the Chief Justice but included all additional judges. For the Lahore High Court the maximum number was fixed at 15.[5]

The West Pakistan High Court[edit]

On 30 September 1955, the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan established the province of West Pakistan, and gave the Governor-General the power to establish the West Pakistan High Court, which was established in 1956. Judges from the Chief Court of Sind and the Judicial Commissioners Court at Peshawar became judges at the West Pakistan High Court.[9]

Creation Of Divisional Benches[edit]

On 1 January 1981, it was ordered that the Lahore High Court would create benches at Bahawalpur, Multan and Rawalpindi. The order also specified that the Lahore High Court judges could hold circuit courts anywhere in the province, with judges nominated by the Lahore High Court Chief Justice.[citation needed]

Chief Justices[edit]

The first Chief Justice at Lahore was Sir Henry Meredyth Plowden in 1880. The current Chief Justice is Malik Shehzad Ahmed Khan, incumbent since 7 March 2024.

List of chief justices[edit]

The following table lists all the chief justices to date.[10]

Portrait Pakistan justice Took office Left office Notes
Chief Court of the Lahore
Sir Henry Meredyth Plowden 1880 1895
Sir Charles Arthur Roe 1895 1898
Sir William Ovens Clark 1898 1909
Sir Arthur Hay Stewart Reid 1909 1914
Sir Alfred Kensington 1914 1915
Sir Donald Campbell Johnstone 1915 1917
Sir Henry Adolphus Rattigan 1917 1919
Lahore High Court
Sir Shadi Lal 1920 1934 First Indian Chief Justice of any High Court in India
Sir John Douglas Young 1934 1943
Sir Arthur Trevor Harries 1943 1946
Sir Mian Abdul Rashid 1946 1948
Muhammad Munir 1949 1954
Sheikh Abdul Rahman 1954 1958
Muhammad Rustam Kayani 1958 1962
Manzur Qadir 1962 1963
Abdul Aziz Khan 1963 1965
Inamullah Khan 1965 1967
Waheed-ud-Din Ahmad 1967 1969
Qadeeruddin Ahmed 1969 1970
Sheikh Anwarul Haq 1970 1972
Sardar Muhammad Iqbal 1972 1976
Aslam Riaz Hussain 1976 1978
Maulvi Mushtaq Hussain 1978 1980
Shamim Hussain Qadri 1980 1982
Javed Iqbal 1982 1986
Ghulam Mujaddid Mirza 1986 1988
Abdul Shakurul Salam 1988 1989
Muhammad Rafiq Tarar 1989 1991
Mian Mahboob Ahmad 1991 1995
Khalil-Ur-Rehman Khan 1996 1996
Sheikh Ijaz Nisar 1996 1997
Sheikh Riaz Ahmad 1997 1997
Rashid Aziz Khan 1997 2000
Mian Allah Nawaz 2000 2000
Falak Sher 2000 2002
Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain 2002 2007
Sayed Zahid Hussain 2008 2009
Khawaja Muhammad Sharif 2009 2010
Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed 2010 2011
Azmat Saeed 2011 2012
Umar Ata Bandial 2012 2014
Imtiaz Ahmad 2014 2015
Manzoor Ahmad Malik 2015 2015
Ijazul Ahsan 2015 2016
Syed Mansoor Ali Shah 2016 2018
Muhammad Yawar Ali 2018 2018
Muhammad Anwaarul Haq 2018 2018
Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan 2019 2019
Mamoon Rashid Sheikh 2020 2020
Muhammad Qasim Khan 2020 2021
Muhammad Ameer Bhatti 2021 2024
Malik Shehzad Ahmed Khan 2024 Till Date

Current composition[edit]

Lahore High Court is headed by a Chief Justice. The bench consist of sixty Justices and additional judges. The retirement age of Chief Justice and Justices is 62 years. The Additional Judges are initially appointed for one year. After that, their services could either be extended or they could be confirmed or they are retired. The current Chief Justice of Lahore High Court is Justice Malik Shehzad Ahmed Khan and Court is currently made up of the following Justices (in order of seniority).[11]

No. Name Appointment Retirement Note(s)
1 Malik Shehzad Ahmed Khan 12 May 2011 24 March 2025 Chief Justice Since 7 March 2023[12]
2 Shujaat Ali Khan 27 March 2012 22 April 2026 Senior Puisne Judge Since 7 March 2023
3 Ali Baqar Najafi 16 April 2012 14 September 2025
4 Shahid Bilal Hassan 12 April 2013 11 March 2027
5 Aalia Neelum 12 April 2013 11 November 2028
6 Abid Aziz Sheikh 12 April 2013 25 April 2029
7 Sadaqat Ali Khan 12 April 2013 20 January 2029
8 Shams Mehmood Mirza 22 March 2014 6 March 2028
9 Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi 22 March 2014 21 April 2028
10 Faisal Zaman Khan 22 March 2014 30 July 2029
11 Masud Abid Naqvi 7 November 2014 4 July 2026
12 Shahid Karim 7 November 2014 19 August 2026
13 Mirza Viqas Rauf 7 November 2014 26 April 2028
14 Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal 7 November 2014 31 October 2028
15 Shehram Sarwar Chaudhary 8 June 2015 23 April 2030
16 Muhammad Sajid Mehmood Sethi 8 June 2015 18 May 2030
17 Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar 8 June 2015 2 July 2030
18 Asjad Javaid Ghural 26 November 2016 29 April 2026
19 Tariq Saleem Sheikh 26 November 2016 23 June 2027
20 Jawad Hassan 26 November 2016 27 July 2029
21 Muzammil Akhtar Shabbir 26 November 2016 13 January 2031
22 Chauhdry Abdul Aziz 26 November 2016 8 September 2033
23 Anwaarul Haq Pannun 23 October 2018 27 March 2025
24 Farooq Haider 23 October 2018 23 April 2030
25 Muhammad Waheed Khan 23 October 2018 27 April 2031
26 Rasaal Hasan Syed 23 October 2018 10 September 2032
27 Asim Hafeez 23 October 2018 13 September 2032
28 Sadiq Mahmud Khurram 23 October 2018 7 January 2035
29 Shakil Ahmed 7 May 2021 11 November 2024
30 Ahmad Nadeem Arshad 7 May 2021 1 May 2027
31 Mohammad Tariq Nadim 7 May 2021 18 July 2029
32 Mohammad Amjad Rafique 7 May 2021 1 February 2032
33 Abid Hussain Chathha 7 May 2021 1 April 2034
34 Anwaar Hussain 7 May 2021 15 January 2035
35 Ali Zia Bajwa 7 May 2021 30 June 2035
36 Sultan Tanvir Ahmed 7 May 2021 27 August 2035
37 Muhammad Raza Qureshi 7 May 2021 14 September 2035
38 Raheel Kamran Sheikh 7 May 2021 20 January 2036
39 Vacant
40 Vacant
41 Vacant
42 Vacant
43 Vacant
44 Vacant
45 Vacant
46 Vacant
47 Vacant
48 Vacant
49 Vacant
50 Vacant
51 Vacant
52 Vacant
53 Vacant
54 Vacant
55 Vacant
56 Vacant
57 Vacant
58 Vacant
59 Vacant
60 Vacant

[13]

PCO 25 March 1981[edit]

The PCO of 1981 also afforded the Lahore High Court these three benches. The judges were required to take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order. Four judges refused to do so and were relieved of office. Four other judges were not administered the oath, and were also relieved of office.[14]

PCO 26 January 2000[edit]

  • Sir Rashid Aziz Khan Took oath under PCO
  • Mian Allah Nawaz Took oath under PCO
  • Falak Sher Took oath under PCO
  • Ehsanul Haq Chaudhry Did not Take oath under PCO
  • Tanvir Ahmad Khan Took oath under PCO
  • Amir Alam Khan Took oath under PCO
  • Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry Took oath under PCO
  • Fakhar-un-Nisa Khokhar Took oath under PCO
  • Ghulam Mehmood Qureshi Took oath under PCO
  • Karamat Nazir Bhandari Took oath under PCO
  • Javed Buttar Took oath under PCO
  • Mohammad Asif Jan Took oath under PCO
  • Mohammad Nasim Chaudhri Took oath under PCO
  • Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi, Took oath under PCO
  • Tassadaq Hussain Jilani Took oath under PCO
  • Raja Mohammad Sabir Took oath under PCO
  • Sayed Zahid Hussain Took oath under PCO
  • Munir Ahmad Mughal Took oath under PCO
  • Fakir Mohammad Khokar Took oath under PCO
  • Abdul Razzaq Sheikh Took oath under PCO
  • Zafar Pasha Chaudhary Took oath under PCO
  • Mumtaz Ali Mirza Took oath under PCO
  • Asif Saeed Khan Khosa Took oath under PCO
  • Ch. Ijaz Ahmad Took oath under PCO
  • Iftikhar Ahmad Cheema Took oath under PCO
  • Jawad S Khawaja Took oath under PCO
  • Khwaja Mohammad Sharif Took oath under PCO
  • Mian Mohammad Najam-uz-Zaman Took oath under PCO
  • Mian Saqib Nisar Took oath under PCO
  • Mian Zafar Yasin Took oath under PCO
  • Riaz Kayani Took oath under PCO
  • Najamul Hassan Kazmi Did not Take oath under PCO
  • Syed Jamshed Ali Took oath under PCO
  • Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday Took oath under PCO
  • Malik Mohammad Qayyum Took oath under PCO
  • Nazir Akhtar Took oath under PCO
  • Ali Nawaz Chohan Took oath under PCO
  • Bashir A Mujahid Took oath under PCO
  • Naeemullah Sherwani Took oath under PCO
  • Molvi Anwar-ul-Haq Took oath under PCO
  • Akhtar Shabbir Took oath under PCO
  • Naseem Sikandar Took oath under PCO
  • Nazir Siddique Took oath under PCO

PCO 3 November 2007[edit]

  • Iftikhar Hussain Ch Take oath under PCo as chief justice
  • Khawja Muhammad Sharif Refused oath under PCo
  • Sayyed Zahid Hussain Take oath under PCo
  • Mian M Najamuz Zaman Take oath under PCo
  • Mian Saqib Nisar Refused oath under PCo
  • Asif Saeed Khan Khosa Refused oath under PCo
  • Maulvi Anwarul Haq Take oath under PCo
  • Nasim Sikandar Take oath under PCo
  • Abdul Shakoor Paracha Take oath under PCo
  • Mohammad Khalid Alvi Take oath under PCo
  • Muhammad Sair Ali Refused oath under PCo
  • Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Refused oath under PCo
  • Mian Hamid Farooq Take oath under PCo
  • M. Bilal Khan Take oath under PCo
  • Fazale Miran Chauhan Take oath under PCo
  • Syed Shabbar Raza Rizvi Take oath under PCo
  • M. A. Shahid Siddiqui Refused oath under PCo
  • Syed Sakhi Hussain Bokhari Take oath under PCo
  • Sardar Mohammad Aslam Take oath under PCo
  • Sheikh Hakim Ali Take oath under PCo
  • Mohammad Muzammal Khan Take oath under PCo
  • Muhammad Jhangir Arshad Refused oath under PCo
  • Sh. Azmat Saeed Refused oath under PCo
  • Syed Hamid Ali Shah Take oath under PCo
  • Umar AttaBandial Refused oath under PCo
  • Sh. Javaid Sarfraz Take oath under PCo
  • Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah Take oath under PCo
  • Tariq Shamim Take oath under PCo
  • Syed Asghar Haider Take oath under PCo
  • Hasnat Ahmad Khan Take oath under PCo
  • Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman Refused oath under PCo

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ N. R. Madhava Menon, ed. (2002). Criminal Justice India Series: Punjab, 2002. Allied Publishers. p. 234. ISBN 978-81-7764-490-6.
  2. ^ "Hon'ble Sitting Judges | Lahore High Court". Data.lhc.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Lahore High Court". Lhc.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  4. ^ "History of the High Court | Lahore High Court". Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "History of The High Court". Lahore High Court. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  6. ^ Hibbert 2000, p. 221
  7. ^ Nasser Hussain, The Jurisprudence of Emergency: Colonialism and the Rule of Law, University of Michigan Press, 11 Nov 2009, ISBN 0472023519, 9780472023516, p.148
  8. ^ FBR. "Lahore High Court – Federal Board Of Revenue Government Of Pakistan". Fbr.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 13 February 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  9. ^ "150 Years of Lahore High Court!". 150.lhc.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Former Chief Justices". Lahore High Court. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Automation of Lahore High Court | PITB". Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti Chief Justice Lahore High Court". Pak Information. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Sitting Judges". Sindh High Court. 2 June 2017. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  14. ^ "History of the High Court". Lahore High Court. Archived from the original on 16 July 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.

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