LHC Registrar Irfan Ahmed Saeed relinquishes charge

Lahore: Lahore High Court  (LHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti and other judges welcomed the newly posted Registrar Sheikh Khalid Bashir on Monday.

Sheikh Khalid Bashir replaced Irfan Ahmed Saeed as the new registrar of the Lahore High Court. Mr. Irfan Ahmed Saeed was posted as district and sessions judge in Multan.

The judges lauded the services of out-going Registrar Irfan Ahmed Saeed and expressed good wishes for him. CJ Bhatti expressed hope that the officers and staff members of the LHC would continue to strive day and night to maintain this pace of development for the glory and honor of this august institution. The CJ was heading a full court meeting at LHC Principal Seat.

The CJ said that the staff of any organization is its backbone and it is a matter of pride for him that the team he had chosen is fulfilling his expectations. The CJ reiterated that all possible measures would be taken to ensure the provision of best, easy and inexpensive justice to the people of the province and all facilities and favorable environment would be provided for lawyers, litigants, judges and the staff.

Both the bench and the bar would enhance their collaboration for the greatness of this institution and smooth delivery of justice.

Senior Puisne Judge Justice Malik Shehzad Ahmad Khan, Justice Shujaat Ali Khan, Justice Ali Baqir Najafi, Miss. Justice Alia Neelam and Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh among other judges of the LHC were present in the full court session.  While, Mr. Justice Jawad Hasan, Mr. Justice Mohammad Tariq Nadeem and Justice Mohammad Raza Qureshi participated through video link from Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur and Multan Benches, respectively.

Registrar Lahore High Court Irfan Ahmad Saeed commenced the proceedings and the newly posted Registrar Sheikh Khalid Bashir was also present on this occasion. At the beginning of the full court meeting, the participants invocated for the departed soul of Justice (R) Fazal-e-Karim, the late father of Hon’ble Mr. Justice Shahid Karim.

In the full court meeting, the performance of all the wings of the Lahore High Court Establishment was reviewed and the performance report related to all the wings of the Lahore High Court Establishment from September 2022 to June 2023 was presented. The participants appreciated the performance and gave valuable feedback and suggestions to improve it further.

In the meeting, it was approved to increase the charges for obtaining certified copies. The relevant rule was amended to increase the charges from Rs.2 to Rs.3 for per page of certified copies.

According to the progress report data, during the last judicial year w.e.f. September 2022 to June 2023, a total of more than 1 hundred and 37 thousand cases were decided in the LHC, Lahore Principal seat and at its allied benches at Bahawalpur, Multan & Rawalpindi. It was told in the full court meeting that this is the fourth full court meeting headed by Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti.

Apart from this, 26 meetings of the administration committee were also held regularly under the chair of the CJ. In which other administrative matters including the matters of judicial officers were also dealt with.

It was further informed in the meeting that Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti assumed office in July 2021, a total of 3 hundred and 10 thousand cases were decided in the LHC Principal seat and at its allied benches, while in the District Judiciary, a total of More than 5.617 million cases were decided. Similarly, more than 1 hundred 58 thousand cases were decided in the special courts (ex-cadre courts) and administrative tribunals.