Lahore (September 25, 2017): The full bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) hearing identical petitions of for and against making model town judicial inquiry report public got dissolved on Monday as Acting Chief Justice LHC Justice Yawat Ali recused himself from the bench on personal grounds.
A full bench of LHC headed by Acting Chief Justice Yawar Ali took up identical petitions for and against making model town inquiry report public including the Punjab government’s intra-court appeal against the single bench order to release the Model Town inquiry report.
When the bench resume hearing of the petitions, Justice Yawar Ali, who was heading the bench, refused to sit on the bench on personal ground.
After his recusal, the bench get dissolved. Then the petitions were sent to Chief Justice LHC for constitution of a larger bench of the court.
Earlier in the day, a two-member division bench referred to the full bench the Punjab government’s intra-court appeal (ICA) against the single-bench decision ordering the release of the Model Town inquiry report.
Justice Abdul Sami Khan and Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi heard the government’s ICA.
On September 21, Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi ordered the Punjab home secretary to make public the report, authored by LHC Justice Baqar Najafi, on the Model Town killings and provide a copy to the families of those killed and injured in the 2014 incident.
The government in its appeal against the decision, challenged the jurisdiction of the single bench to give its decision on the report, on the grounds that as many as eight identical petitions on the same matter were already pending before a full bench.
In the appeal, the government said it was neither asked by the single bench to file any reply nor was put on notice on the matter, adding that it was also not given any opportunity to explain its position on the case.
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