Justice buried?: Lawyers go on strike but judges refuse to suspend proceedings

A general body meeting termed the NJPMC's decision as a violation of Article 10-A of the Constitution.

KARACHI:

For two years, the black coats were out on the streets in protest. Among other things, their prime demand was dispensation of quick justice. Today, the slogan has changed.

Sindh High Court Bar Association’s (SHCBA) members protested on Thursday against the National Judicial Policy Making Committee’s (NJPMC) recent decision for the disposal of all old pending cases by December 31.

A general body meeting headed by SHCBA’s president, Mustafa Lakhani, termed the decision as a violation of Article 10-A of the Constitution, saying that “justice hurried is justice buried.”

The members claim that the lower court’s presiding officers were under serious pressure to dispose of cases in a hurry and this would lead to a denial of justice. They went to courts, requesting judges to suspend legal proceedings to protest against NJPMC’s decision. The judges, however, turned down the request.

Later, the lawyers criticised the judges for turning down the bar representatives’ requests for suspending work on the call of the Pakistan Bar Council. They also asked the judicial policy making committee to withdraw the deadline. Though most lawyers went on strike, some of them  appeared in courts to plead their cases.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2012.