Senior Advocate High Court
Enrolled by the Punjab Bar Council in 1982 and with the Lahore High Court in 1996, Advocate Soba Sorya has practised civil and criminal law at every level of the courts in Punjab for more than forty years. This page describes his practice as a Senior Advocate High Court and the areas in which he appears.
The cases others avoid
I take the cases others avoid: blasphemy accusations, abductions and forced conversions, church and graveyard land disputes, bonded labour, and false criminal cases brought to settle scores. I also handle the everyday legal needs of Christian families in Pakistan: marriage, divorce, custody, inheritance, property and employment.
Every matter is handled with the same rule I have kept since 1982: honesty with the client, no false promises, a defence built on evidence and procedure, and prayer with every family. Through Christian Lawyers Alliance Pakistan, persecuted Christians are never charged for their defence.
Eight fields, from the police station to the High Court
Blasphemy and persecution defence
False accusations under sections 295 and 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code can end a life before a trial begins. Immediate representation, bail, security for the family, and a defence built on evidence and procedure.
Forced conversion and abduction
Recovery and habeas corpus petitions, age determination, protection orders and prosecution support when a Christian girl has been abducted, forcibly converted and married.
Christian family law
Marriage and its registration, divorce under the Christian Divorce Act 1869, custody, maintenance, and succession under the Succession Act 1925.
Property, church and graveyard land
Ownership disputes, illegal occupation, partition among heirs, and the protection of church buildings, mission schools, Christian graveyards and evacuee property.
Criminal defence and bail
FIR registration when the police refuse, bail at every stage, trial defence, and representation of victims of assault, arson and mob violence.
Labour and bonded labour
Brick kiln workers, domestic workers and sanitary workers form the poorest part of the Christian community. The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, unpaid wages, and unlawful dismissal.
Constitutional petitions
Writ petitions in the High Court on fundamental rights: freedom of religion, equality before the law, protection of minorities, and the duty of the state to act.
Asylum documentation
Sworn statements, case histories, court records and certified Urdu-to-English translations for Pakistani Christian refugees in Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and other countries.
The courts
- The lower courts of Punjab: Magistrate, Sessions and family courts, since 1982
- The Lahore High Court, since 1996: writ petitions, appeals, bail and habeas corpus
- Through senior counsel, the Supreme Court of Pakistan
- Lahore based, serving all of Punjab and, through the advocates of CLAP, the whole country
Free for the persecuted
Write to the office of the Patron in Chief
For legal aid, a forced conversion or blasphemy case, a press enquiry or an invitation to speak. Every message reaches the office of Founding Patron in Chief Advocate Soba Sorya in Lahore.
