LAHORE, Aug 4: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Sayed Zahid Husain on Monday issued a stay order against the establishment of Musalehati Committees in a petition challenging creation of a parallel judicial system the

PML-N government was setting up with political motives.

The chief justice also directed the advocate general to get report and comments from the respondents within a fortnight.

Petitioner Safdar Mumtaz Sandhu, a Gujrat union council nazim, said the Musalehati Commitees have been constituted with a bad intention to accommodate political workers of the PML-N and to compel the opponents to change loyalties. He said members of the committees had already started threatening their political rivals.

The petitioner, through Mubeenuddin Qazi, said the committees were being set up on the directives of the Punjab government through DPO, CPO and RPO of the Gujranwala division.

He said the RPO had issued instructions that these committees shall be provided offices on the premises of police stations, and the police officers shall refer criminal as well as civil and family cases to them for decisions.

The counsel said the parties to a dispute would not be able to refuse to appear before the said committees as specific directions had been issued that the police shall produce them before the committees. “Hence, not only the Police Order, 2002, is being breached but without any statutory or legal mandate a parallel judicial system is being created under the executive authority of police.”

He said such a system was a violation of Article 175 of the Constitution, which states: “The judiciary shall be separated from the executive, and that no court shall have any jurisdiction save as is or may be conferred on it by the Constitution or under any law.”

He said instead of taking notice of the illegality, the Gujrat district and sessions judge also attended one of such illegal ceremonies and addressed these illegally constituted committees.

The counsel said despite best efforts, the petitioner was not informed about the relevant law or authority under which the said committees were being set up.

He said the establishment of such committees was also against the spirit of the concept of alternate dispute resolution through arbitration, conciliation and mediation, which were purely of voluntary nature and depended upon the will and consent of the parties.

He said the constitution of such committees was also a violation of the Punjab Local Government Ordinance read with the provisions of the Local Government Musalehati Anjuman Rules, 2006, which provide amicable settlement of disputes through constitution of Musalehati Anjuman. He added in the last tenure of the PML-N government, “notorious” Khidmat Committees were set up.

He said these committees turned out to be tools for blackmailing and victimising political rivals. He added since the Khidmat Committees were declared illegal by superior courts, these committees were being set up with the same motive under the patronage of the PML-N government and required similar treatment.