LHC bars family courts from cases’ referral on their own

Declaring the 20-year-old practice of transferring family courts’ cases to other courts and districts illegal, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday made it binding on these courts to seek its permission prior to the transfer of these cases, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Justice Sajid Mehmood Sethi of the court wrote in the eight-page verdict that the family courts judges were not authorised to refer their cases to other districts or courts.

The LHC also ordered sending copies of the eight-page landmark decision to all civil and session judges.

The verdict reads that only the LHC was authorised to decide the transfer of the cases to other districts under section 25-A of the Family Courts Act.

Similarly, the verdict states that a district judge was authorised to transfer a case from one family court to another in the same district.

Moreover, the decision says that a district judge was also empowered to hear a family dispute and settle it.

Justice Sethi wrote that only the Supreme Court had the authority to transfer a family court case from one province to another.

The petitioner, while challenging transfer of a family court case from Lahore to Faisalabad through Shehzad Shaukat Advocate, had prayed to the LHC to declare the act of transferring case by a family court from one district to another illegal.