Lahore High Court


The Lahore High Court is based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1919. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is in Lahore, but there are benches in three other Pakistani cities: Rawalpindi, Multan and Bahawalpur. 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.

History

Creation

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.
The Board of Administration consisted of Sir Henry Lawrence, John Lawrence and Charles Grenville Mansel

Chief Court of the Punjab

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. By 1864, a proliferation of court cases necessitated an expansion to the judicial structure in the province. The Punjab Courts Act, 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.
Over time, as appeals to the Chief Court greatly increased, later Acts namely the Punjab Courts Act, and Punjab Courts Act, repealed earlier Acts and restated the law regarding the courts' constitution, powers and jurisdiction. Additional judges were appointed, and greater finality was granted to the decisions of the lower appellate courts. 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.

Lahore High Court

On 1 April 1919, the Chief Court of the Punjab was elevated to the status of a High Court, becoming known as Lahore High Court, by Letters Patent granted pursuant to Section 113 of the Government of India Act, 1915. The Letters Patent by 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.
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.
By virtue of the Government of India 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.

The West Pakistan High Court

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.

Creation Of Divisional Benches

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.

Chief Justices

The first Chief Justice at Lahore was Sir Henry Meredyth Plowden in 1880. The current Chief Justice is Muhammad Qasim Khan, incumbent since 19 March 2020.

Current Composition

Lahore High Court is headed by a Chief Justice. The bench consist of 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 Mamoon Rashid Sheikh and Court is currently made up of the following Justices.
No.NameAppointmentRetirementNote
1Muhammad Qasim Khan19 February 20105 July 2021chief Justice since 19 march 2020
2Muhammad Ameer Bhatti12 May 20117 March 2024
3Malik Shehzad Ahmed Khan12 May 201114 March 2025
4Shujaat Ali Khan27 March 201222 April 2026
5Ayesha Malik27 March 20122 June 2028
6Shahid Waheed27 March 201224 December 2028
7Ali Baqar Najafi16 April 201214 September 2025
8Atir Mahmood12 April 201308 Mar 2021
9Shahid Bilal Hassan12 April 201311 March 2027
10Aalia Neelum12 April 201311 November 2028
11Abid Aziz Sheikh12 April 201325 April 2029
12Muhammad Tariq Abbasi29 October 201330 March 2021
13Ch. Muhammad Masood Jahangir29 October 20132 December 2022
14Sadaqat Ali Khan29 October 201320 January 2029
15Shams Mehmood Mirza22 March 20146 March 2028
16Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi22 March 201421 April 2028
17Shahid Jamil Khan22 March 201429 April 2028
18Faisal Zaman Khan22 March 201430 July 2029
19Chaudhry Mushtaq Ahmed7 November 20146 April 2021
20Masud Abid Naqvi7 November 20144 July 2026
21Shahid Karim7 November 201419 August 2026
22Mirza Viqas Rauf7 November 201426 April 2028
23Ch. Muhammad Iqbal7 November 201431 October 2028
24Sardar Ahmad Naeem8 June 201530 June 2022
25Raja Shahid Mehmood Abbasi8 June 201524 January 2025
26Shehram Sarwar Chaudhary8 June 201523 April 2030
27Muhammad Sajid Mehmood Sethi8 June 201518 May 2030
28Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar8 June 20152 July 2030
29Asjad Javaid Ghural26 November 201629 April 2026
30Tariq Saleem Sheikh26 November 201623 June 2027
31Jawad Hassan26 November 201627 July 2029
32Muzammil Akhtar Shabbir26 November 201613 January 2031
33Chauhdry Abdul Aziz26 November 20168 September 2033
34Anwaar ul Haq Pannun23 October 201827 March 2025
35Farooq Haider23 October 201823 April 2030
36Shakil ur Rehman Khan23 October 201814 February 2031
37Muhammad Waheed Khan23 October 201827 April 2031
38Rasaal Hasan Syed23 October 201810 September 2032
39Asim Hafeez23 October 201813 September 2032
40Sadiq Mahmud Khurram23 October 20187 January 2035
41Vacant
42Vacant
43Vacant
44Vacant
45Vacant
46Vacant
47Vacant
48Vacant
49Vacant
50Vacant
51Vacant
52Vacant
53Vacant
54Vacant
55Vacant
56Vacant
57Vacant
58Vacant
59Vacant

PCO 25 March 1981

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.

PCO 26 January 2000