ISLAMABAD -The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Wednesday barred the lower courts from giving verbal orders to arrest any person.  Member Inspection Team (MIT) of the Islamabad High Court issued the instructions to lower courts on the directives of Chief Justice of IHC Justice Athar Minallah. 
In this regard, the MIT sent a letter to District and Sessions Judge East and West of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) which stated that no person should be arrested from inside the courtrooms under the verbal orders only. It stated that the arrests on verbal orders were violations of judicial traditions.  The letter said that IHC Chief Justice has been pleased to direct the District and Sessions judges to advise all the judicial officers under the administrative control that “no verbal order shall be passed for arrest of any person in the Court room in breach of the established judicial norms, decorum of a Court and unsustainable in law.” 
The letter also directed to ensure compliance of direction of the competent authority in letter and spirit. 
It may be mentioned here that a journalist was arrested from a lower court on verbal orders of civil judge Waqaruddin Gondal. The IHC’s Journalist Association had raised the matter before the IHC Chief Justice.