‘Seniors, widows, orphans’ cases should get preference’

In October 2012, SHC chief justice had ordered the same

ISLAMABAD: While requesting the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to follow the footsteps of the Sindh High Court (SHC), the bar association of capital’s high court has requested the chief justice to give priority to the cases filed by senior citizens, widows and orphans.

Muhammad Waqas Malik, the secretary general of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association, has requested the IHC Chief Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi to patronise the practice and notify it as it would provide an opportunity to the senior citizens, widows and orphans to be heard on a priority basis.

In October 2012, the SHC Chief Justice Mushir Alam had ordered that cases filed by senior citizens, widows and orphans must be given priority by judges across the province. “Preference be given to the cases of senior citizens i.e. persons aged above 65 years, widows who have not remarried, and orphans.”

Malik has requested the court to consider adopting the same practice at the federal capital’s courts. While talking to The Express Tribune, he said that “process has already been started” and hopefully it would soon be implemented at the IHC.

“Do not just think about the number of such people or cases, this decision will give benefit to the entire population of the capital in one way or the other,” he concluded.

In case they opt for fast track, Justice Alam had said that they should move an application which would be heard in court and decided accordingly. In addition, he had ordered that once the priority was given to a particular case, it should be fixed on a weekly basis.

He had added that the file cover of such cases should be given a different colour, preferably ‘RED’ to attract the attention of the judges.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2016.