Farewells and a welcome: ‘No one returned empty-handed from Sarmad Jalal Osmany’s court’

Bar and bench pay tribute to justices Osmany and Muslim.

KARACHI: “Our mission has been fulfilled, as we [now] have the trust of the public,” said former chief justice of the Sindh High Court Sarmad Jalal Osmany on Thursday at a full court reference. The reference was arranged by the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) to pay tribute to Justice Osmany and Justice Amir Hani Muslim, who have been elevated to the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the nomination of Justice Mushir Alam as the new SHC chief justice was also welcomed by the speakers, who hoped that under him, the court would function even more efficiently and would be able to lead other provinces in the dispensation of justice.

Justice Osmany said that the cooperation and sacrifices of lawyers was imperative in the restoration of the judiciary. “Today we see an independent and honest judiciary,” he added. He thanked SHC judges and members of the bar associations for their cooperation.

His services were lauded by other members of the meeting. “No one returned empty-handed from Sarmad Jalal Osmany’s court,” said Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Nazar Akbar. If a person came seeking refuge and his case was not strong based on legal grounds, Justice Osmany would make such an observation, that would fall within the legal boundaries, and at the same time help the petitioner, added Akbar.

The DAG recalled two important judgments that were made by benches including Justice Osmany: one was to end bonded labour and the second was to check the misuse of a law on removal from service (introduced by General Pervez Musharraf). In the second case, the deputy secretary of the election commission, Nasreen Pervez, was removed from her post for not going to the airport to welcome the commission. She was dismissed without an inquiry. Justice Osmany, ruling in Pervez’s favour, had said that nobody can be removed without an official inquiry, even if there is a factual controversy involved. “These two judgments prove that Justice Osmany is a human rights activist in his own right,” said Akbar.

Meanwhile, president of the Malir Bar Association Aijaz Muhammad Bangash gave a speech in Urdu, an anomaly since speeches at full court references are almost always given in English. He commended Justice Osmany’s services and said he always helped to solve the bar associations’ problems.

Justice Osmany will be remembered not just by the other judges but by the entire staff of the high court and bar association, said SHCBA Honorary Secretary. Everyone loves and respects him because he considered the sons and wards of employees for employment in the SHC.

Other speakers, including Karachi Bar Association (KBA) president Muhammad Aqil and SHCBA president Anwar Mansoor Khan, also praised Justice Amir Hani Muslim. They said that although at times he admonished lawyers who appeared before him, the reprimands were only reactions to injustice. Whenever a genuine case came before him, Justice Hani was unable to conceal his emotions and to ensure justice, he sometimes snubbed the counsel or party responsible for injustice.

Justice Mushir Alam also paid tribute to Justice Osmany and Justice Muslim.

The reference was attended by senior lawyers including Hakim Ali Shaikh, Ghulam Shabbir Shaikh, Abdul Hafeez Lakho and others.

additional input from PPI

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2011.