# Lahore High Court Bar Association

The Lahore High Court Bar Association (Urdu: عدالتِ عالیہ لاہور مجلسِ وکلاء) is situated in Lahore.
Lahore Bar (presently Lahore High Court Bar) as a collective group took birth somewhere before 1892-93 and its first President was elected in 1893. In 1910 the Executive Committee recommended that the Bar Association should be registered accordingly. The General House on 9 June 1910, accepted the recommendations and registered it as Bar Association.

## History

The earliest trace of the Lahore High Court Bar as a body to be acknowledged and accepted starts from 1882. In October 1882, the judges of the Chief Court passed a resolution requesting Mr. C. H. Spitta, Barrister-at-Law (then a leading member of the legal fraternity and later to become a temporary judge of the Chief Court) to convene a Special Meeting of the Bar, to devise measures to root out touting. In compliance with this Resolution, Mr. C. H. Spitta convened a meeting of the Lahore Bar on 22 November 1882, in the Bar Room and at which five Barristers and thirteen Pleaders attended. The meeting was presided by Mr. C. H. Spitta. At the meeting, ten resolutions to root out touting were passed by the Lahore Bar and their copies transmitted to the Registrar of the Chief Court, for his attention. These were received and under the orders of the Judges, circulated by the Chief Court to all the Commissioners and Superintendents of the various Divisions for compliance. Apart from the above, there is no further evidence of the Lahore Bar till 1892–93. Out of the Association's available records, the register containing the Minutes of the earliest General Meetings of the Chief Court Bar Association starts from the year 1893. The file dealing with the subject "Touts-High Court" amongst the High Court's records, contains the copy of a letter addressed to the Secretary of the Bar Association in 1892 and his seems to be the earliest letter traceable from the various High Court files addressed to the legal fraternity practicing in the Chief court in its capacity as an Association. From these items of evidence, it can fairly be inferred that the Lahore Bar assumed some maturity by 1882 and became an entity which commanded attention and to which the Chief Court had to look to for assistance. But the Lahore Bar as a collective group or entity took birth somewhere after 1882 and before 1892–93.
In 1910 the executive committee recommended that the Chief Court Bar Association should be registered and that the Secretary should take necessary steps for this purpose. The General House in its meeting held on 9 June 1910, accepted the recommendations of the committee.

## Notable former presidents

* Abid Hassan Minto
* Hamid Khan (lawyer)
* Khalid Ranjha
* Nasira Iqbal
* Hafiz Abdul Rehman Ansari
* Ahmad Awais
* Mian Abdul Quddus
* Abid Saqi
* Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali
* Rana Zia Abdul Rahman
* Anwaar ul Haq Pannun
* Tahir Nasrullah Warraich
* Maqsood Buttar
* Chaudhry Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan
* Asad Manzoor Butt
* Malik Asif Nissoana

## Notable former secretaries

* Hamid Khan (lawyer)
* Ahmad Awais
* Saqib Nisar
* Rana Mashood Ahmad Khan
* Muzammil Akhtar Shabbir
* Azam Nazeer Tarar
* Rana Babar Murtaza Khan
* Malik Arshad Awan
* Rana Asad Ullah Khan
* Muqtadir Akhtar Shabbir
* Shehram Sarwar Chaudhary
* Hassan Iqbal Warraich
* Rai Usman Ahmad
* Sabahat Rizvi
* Qadir Bukhsh Chahal
* Farrukh Cheema