Independent
Judiciary
By Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)
Westridge, Rawalpindi
A
lot is being said and written these days about
the judiciary being independent. There are no
two opinions about it that as an important pillar
of the state it must be independent to ensure
the rule of law. The law, which must be equal
for all, can only be dispensed by the judiciary
without any fear or coercion if the judiciary
is independent. However, along with it, there
two more important requirements for the dispensation
of justice.
(One) It must be fair. This can only happen if
the judiciary is honest. There are good and questionable
people in our all walks of life. So is the case
with our judiciary, particularly at its lower
echelons. While the majority are above the board
unfortunately the same cannot be said about all.
What goes on in our courts is no secret. The way
the poor, illiterate and ignorant litigants are
deprived of justice by the sharp lawyers and the
lawyers in cahoots with the magistrates and judges
is known to all. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon
to hear the cliché going rounds the courts,
“Why pay the lawyer, pay the judge and win
the case”.
(Two). Justice must be quick. The old maxim of
“justice delayed is justice denied”
is an all-time truth. Judges are over loaded with
the cases. Lawyers have to appear in different
courts simultaneously on the same date. Postponement
of the hearing date by the court clerk in consideration
of a few hundred rupees only to oblige a party
is too common a phenomenon to be mentioned. Working
inefficiency of the courts – not adhering
to the timings, late arrivals of the attorneys,
frequent adjournments and recesses for teas, visitors
etc., leaves and vacations by the judges and a
horde of other such factors cause inordinate delays.
Hence the judiciary should not only be independent
but also honest, fair, competent, efficient and
prompt in dispensing justice. I wish the legal
fraternity, the politicians and the religio-political
parties stage rallies also for these norms of
the judiciary.
Cricket Captaincy
It was quite amusing to see some of the players
- Muhammad Yusaf etc. - volunteering to lead the
Pakistan cricket team. My only request to the
PCB and the selectors is not to ‘appoint’
a captain with a beard. As a matter of fact no
player with the beard should be selected to play,
as while abroad they engage themselves more in
Tabligh than the game. Holding Drass sessions
till late in the night certainly tells upon their
physical fitness and mental alertness the next
day during the play.
In the good old days, the strict 10 p.m. Lights
Out time for every player to be in bed was not
in vogue just for nothing. It was a time proven
practice that promoted the playing efficiency
of the players. No one ever used to lament and
blame qismat for losing a match. They always blamed
themselves for the poor performance and complimented
the winning team for having played better. That
was the sportsman spirit in the days gone by and
not what is displayed nowadays by our bearded
brigade.
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