Lahore High Court


The Lahore High Court is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is in Lahore, but there are benches in three other cities of the province: Rawalpindi, Multan and Bahawalpur.
A proposal was sent by lawyers to set up new high court benches in Faisalabad, Sialkot, D.G.Khan and Gujranwala divisions but full court of Lahore High Court turned down this request.

History

Creation

In 1849, the East India Company defeated the Sikh Empire and assumed control of administration within the Punjab. A Board of Administration was constituted and the Punjab was divided into Divisions, Districts and Tehsils. The Divisions were controlled by Commissioners, Districts by Deputy Commissioners and Tehsils by an Assistant and Extra Assistant Commissioners.
The Board of Administration consisted of Sir Henry Lawrence, John Lawrence and Charles Grenville Mansel

Chief Court of the Punjab Lahore High Court

In 1858 the Punjab, along with the rest of British India, came under the direct rule of the British crown and decisions with regard to administration and justice were now made under the authority of the monarch, Queen Victoria. By 1864, a proliferation of court cases necessitated an expansion to the judicial structure in the province. The Punjab Courts Act, introduced seven grades of courts, combining judicial and administrative functions and claiming jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases. The Court of Tehsildar was the lowest court, whilst the Court of the Judicial Commissioner became the highest court in the land.
Over time, as appeals to the Chief Court greatly increased, later Acts namely the Punjab Courts Act, and Punjab Courts Act, repealed earlier Acts and restated the law regarding the courts' constitution, powers and jurisdiction. Additional judges were appointed, and greater finality was granted to the decisions of the lower appellate courts. By 1884, there were four classes of courts subordinate to the Chief Court, namely the Divisional Court, the Court of the District Judge, the Court of the Subordinate Judge, the Court of Munsif.

Lahore High Court

On 1 October 1882, the Chief Court of the Punjab Court was elevated to the status of a Lahore High Court, becoming known as Lahore High Court, King-Emperor George V also appointed a Chief Justice and six puisne justices, and declared the Court's jurisdiction over the Punjab and Delhi provinces.
The Government of India Act, 1935 removed the barrier that the Chief Justice must be a Barrister Judge and opened the position to Civilian Judges. An age limit of 60 years was set for High Court Judges.
By virtue of the Government of India Order, 1937, a maximum number of Judges for the various High Courts in India was fixed. In each case the number so stated was exclusive of the Chief Justice but included all additional judges. For the Lahore High Court the maximum number was fixed at 15.

The West Pakistan High Court

On 30 September 1955, the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan established the province of West Pakistan, and gave the Governor-General the power to establish the West [Pakistan High Court], which was established in 1956. Judges from the Chief Court of Sind and the Judicial Commissioners Court at Peshawar became judges at the West Pakistan High Court.

Creation Of Divisional Benches

On 1 January 1981, it was ordered that the Lahore High Court would create benches at Bahawalpur, Multan and Rawalpindi. The order also specified that the Lahore High Court judges could hold circuit courts anywhere in the province, with judges nominated by the Lahore High Court Chief Justice.

Chief Justices

The first Chief Justice at Lahore was Sir Henry Meredyth Plowden in 1880. The current Chief Justice is Aalia Neelum, incumbent since 11 July 2024.

List of chief justices

The following table lists all the chief justices to date.

Current composition

Lahore High Court is headed by a Chief Justice. The bench consist of sixty Justices and additional judges. The retirement age of Chief Justice and Justices is 62 years. The Additional Judges are initially appointed for one year. After that, their services could either be extended or they could be confirmed or they are retired. The current Chief Justice of Lahore High Court is Justice Aalia Neelum and Court is currently made up of the following Justices.
No.NameAppointmentRetirementNote
1Aalia Neelum12 April 201311 November 2028Chief Justice Since 11 July 2024
2Shujaat Ali Khan27 March 201222 April 2026Senior Puisne Judge Since 11 July 2024
3Abid Aziz Sheikh12 April 201325 April 2029
4Sadaqat Ali Khan29 October 201320 January 2029
5Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi22 March 201421 April 2028
6Faisal Zaman Khan22 March 201430 July 2029
7Masud Abid Naqvi7 November 20144 July 2026
8Shahid Karim7 November 201419 August 2026
9Mirza Viqas Rauf7 November 201426 April 2028
10Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal7 November 201431 October 2028
11Shehram Sarwar Chaudhary8 June 201523 April 2030
12Muhammad Sajid Mehmood Sethi8 June 201518 May 2030
13Asjad Javaid Ghural26 November 201629 April 2026
14Tariq Saleem Sheikh26 November 201623 June 2027
15Jawad Hassan26 November 201627 July 2029
16Muzammil Akhtar Shabbir26 November 201613 January 2031
17Farooq Haider23 October 201823 April 2030
18Muhammad Waheed Khan23 October 201827 April 2031
19Rasaal Hasan Syed23 October 201810 September 2032
20Asim Hafeez23 October 201813 September 2032
21Sadiq Mahmud Khurram23 October 20187 January 2035
22Ahmad Nadeem Arshad7 May 20211 May 2027
23Mohammad Tariq Nadim7 May 202118 July 2029
24Mohammad Amjad Rafique7 May 20211 February 2032
25Abid Hussain Chathha7 May 20211 April 2034
26Anwaar Hussain7 May 202115 January 2035
27Ali Zia Bajwa7 May 202130 June 2035
28Sultan Tanvir Ahmed7 May 202127 August 2035
29Muhammad Raza Qureshi7 May 202114 September 2035
30Raheel Kamran Sheikh7 May 202120 January 2036
31Hassan Nawaz Makhdoom10 February 202531 October 2031
32Malik Waqar Haider Awan10 February 20256 June 2033
33Sardar Akbar Ali10 February 20255 July 2034
34Syed Ahsan Raza Kazmi10 February 202523 April 2038
35Malik Javid Iqbal Wains10 February 202517 January 2039
36Muhammad Jawad Zafar10 February 20255 December 2039
37Khalid Ishaq10 February 20253 February 2040
38Malik Muhammad Awais Khalid10 February 202523 June 2040
39Ch Sultan Mahmood10 February 20253 July 2040
40Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan5 March 202524 March 2030Additional judge, subject to confirmation
41Tanveer Ahmad Sheikh5 March 202526 December 2027
42Tariq Mehmood Bajwa5 March 202530 November 2030Additional judge, subject to confirmation
43Abher Gul Khan5 March 202530 December 2034
44Vacant
45Vacant
46Vacant
47Vacant
48Vacant
49Vacant
50Vacant
51Vacant
52Vacant
53Vacant
54Vacant
55Vacant
56Vacant
57Vacant
58Vacant
59Vacant
60Vacant

PCO 25 March 1981

The PCO of 1981 also afforded the Lahore High Court these three benches. The judges were required to take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order. Four judges refused to do so and were relieved of office. Four other judges were not administered the oath, and were also relieved of office.

PCO 26 January 2000

  • Sir Rashid Aziz Khan Took oath under PCO
  • Mian Allah Nawaz Took oath under PCO
  • Falak Sher Took oath under PCO
  • Ehsanul Haq Chaudhry Did not Take oath under PCO
  • Tanvir Ahmad Khan Took oath under PCO
  • Amir Alam Khan Took oath under PCO
  • Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry Took oath under PCO
  • Fakhar-un-Nisa Khokhar Took oath under PCO
  • Ghulam Mehmood Qureshi Took oath under PCO
  • Karamat Nazir Bhandari Took oath under PCO
  • Javed Buttar Took oath under PCO
  • Mohammad Asif Jan Took oath under PCO
  • Mohammad Nasim Chaudhri Took oath under PCO
  • Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi, Took oath under PCO
  • Tassadaq Hussain Jilani Took oath under PCO
  • Raja Mohammad Sabir Took oath under PCO
  • Sayed Zahid Hussain Took oath under PCO
  • Munir Ahmad Mughal Took oath under PCO
  • Fakir Mohammad Khokar Took oath under PCO
  • Abdul Razzaq Sheikh Took oath under PCO
  • Zafar Pasha Chaudhary Took oath under PCO
  • Mumtaz Ali Mirza Took oath under PCO
  • Asif Saeed Khan Khosa Took oath under PCO
  • Ch. Ijaz Ahmad Took oath under PCO
  • Iftikhar Ahmad Cheema Took oath under PCO
  • Jawad S Khawaja Took oath under PCO
  • Khwaja Mohammad Sharif Took oath under PCO
  • Mian Mohammad Najam-uz-Zaman Took oath under PCO
  • Mian Saqib Nisar Took oath under PCO
  • Mian Zafar Yasin Took oath under PCO
  • Riaz Kayani Took oath under PCO
  • Najamul Hassan Kazmi Did not Take oath under PCO
  • Syed Jamshed Ali Took oath under PCO
  • Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday Took oath under PCO
  • Malik Mohammad Qayyum Took oath under PCO
  • Nazir Akhtar Took oath under PCO
  • Ali Nawaz Chohan Took oath under PCO
  • Bashir A Mujahid Took oath under PCO
  • Naeemullah Sherwani Took oath under PCO
  • Molvi Anwar-ul-Haq Took oath under PCO
  • Akhtar Shabbir Took oath under PCO
  • Naseem Sikandar Took oath under PCO
  • Nazir Siddique Took oath under PCO

PCO 3 November 2007

  • Iftikhar Hussain Ch Take oath under PCo as chief justice
  • Khawja Muhammad Sharif Refused oath under PCo
  • Sayyed Zahid Hussain Take oath under PCo
  • Mian M Najamuz Zaman Take oath under PCo
  • Mian Saqib Nisar Refused oath under PCo
  • Asif Saeed Khan Khosa Refused oath under PCo
  • Maulvi Anwarul Haq Take oath under PCo
  • Nasim Sikandar Take oath under PCo
  • Abdul Shakoor Paracha Take oath under PCo
  • Mohammad Khalid Alvi Take oath under PCo
  • Muhammad Sair Ali Refused oath under PCo
  • Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Refused oath under PCo
  • Mian Hamid Farooq Take oath under PCo
  • M. Bilal Khan Take oath under PCo
  • Fazale Miran Chauhan Take oath under PCo
  • Syed Shabbar Raza Rizvi Take oath under PCo
  • M. A. Shahid Siddiqui Refused oath under PCo
  • Syed Sakhi Hussain Bokhari Take oath under PCo
  • Sardar Mohammad Aslam Take oath under PCo
  • Sheikh Hakim Ali Take oath under PCo
  • Mohammad Muzammal Khan Take oath under PCo
  • Muhammad Jhangir Arshad Refused oath under PCo
  • Sh. Azmat Saeed Refused oath under PCo
  • Syed Hamid Ali Shah Take oath under PCo
  • Umar AttaBandial Refused oath under PCo
  • Sh. Javaid Sarfraz Take oath under PCo
  • Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah Take oath under PCo
  • Tariq Shamim Take oath under PCo
  • Syed Asghar Haider Take oath under PCo
  • Hasnat Ahmad Khan Take oath under PCo
  • Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman Refused oath under PCo