‘Corruption will not be tolerated in the judiciary’

SHC holds full court reference for outgoing Chief Justice Faisal Arab

KARACHI: Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court Faisal Arab said on Wednesday that corruption in the judiciary will not be tolerated and steps are still needed to curb it.

Addressing a full court reference held upon his nomination for elevation to the Supreme Court, Justice Arab said action was taken against 13 judicial officers on corruption and misconduct charges. Seven have been compulsorily retired, while one is facing disciplinary action, he added.

The chief justice said more than 150,000 cases were still pending litigation in the subordinate judiciary in the province. He added that 279 posts of the judicial officers were lying vacant in the lower judiciary, saying that fresh appointments were made to fill 144 posts and 139 judicial officers were promoted to these posts. In the last 11 years only 146 judicial officers were appointed in the lower judiciary, he added.

He expressed his hope that the coming chief justice will take effective measures for the provision of timely justice to the litigants. The outgoing CJ said that the bench and bar are the two wheels of the chariot and underscored that both will have to jointly struggle to address the issues facing the masses in the dispensation of justice.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th,  2015.