Islamabad - Legal fraternity of the federal capital has expressed their concern over the government’s decision to relocate district courts (West) from F-8 to the building that currently houses IHC in Sector G-10 next year.
The lawyers are of the opinion that this decision would further increase their problems instead of resolving them.
Currently, Islamabad Capital Territory is divided into two territorial jurisdictions of District Courts (East) and District Courts (West) for judicial purposes.
Each division is headed by a district and sessions judge and a senior civil judge. While a number of additional district and sessions judge, civil judge-cum-judicial magistrates work under their supervision to adjudicate both civil and criminal matters.
At present, both divisions of district courts are located in F-8 Markaz and the Islamabad District Courts are situated in the shops and plazas of F-8 Markaz, while the lawyer chambers are built in makeshift shanties peppered in and out of courtrooms.
The government plans to relocate District Courts (West) to the building that presently houses IHC in sector G-10/1. As in the middle of next year, the new building of Islamabad High Court, currently under-construction in Sector G-5, red zone, will be completed at a cost of Rs2.6 billion over an area of 5 acres.
For judicial purposes, as a rule of thumb, all CDA sectors and adjacent areas come under the territorial jurisdiction of District Courts (West) while the rural areas of ICT and adjacent areas come under the territorial jurisdiction of District Courts (East).
Chaudhary Khalid, Media Coordinator of Islamabad Bar Association said that this decision of government would not benefit the lawyers as well as the litigants and it would be best if both branches of the district courts are constructed in one judicial complex.
“Both the legal community and the litigants will benefit greatly if both courts are located at one place. It would be extremely hard if not altogether impossible for the lawyers to pursue multiple cases in the courts that are located far from each other,” maintained the lawyer.
Another lawyer practicing at Islamabad District Courts, Khalid Mehmood Khan said that District Bar Association (DBA) and Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) have passed resolutions demanding that both branches of the district courts should be constructed in one judicial complex.
He said that they would not accept this decision of the government because it would not only create problems for them but the litigants would also face many problems.