Wider accessibility: For court records in Urdu, new section planned

Journalists would be able to acquire accurate translation of rulings in Urdu from the apex court.

ISLAMABAD:

Media representatives will be able to obtain Urdu-language translations of court rulings following a move to create a separate section to translate judgments into the national language, the apex court’s registrar said on Saturday.

Supreme Court registrar Dr Faqir Hussain said that interviews have been conducted to find a suitable candidate “to make this long desired section functional”. The move is aimed at making the court’s judgments clearer and more intelligible for media persons and litigants in particular.

Since the restoration of the judiciary, many journalists have been made accountable for inaccurate reporting of sensitive court cases. “Sometimes the media ends up reporting observation and remarks which are tentative in nature,” a lawyer said, adding that such coverage should not be allowed until the concluding verdict.

Recently, in a case related to media ethics, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja drew attention of media persons regarding distorted reporting of court’s proceedings.

During the hearing of the case, it was also revealed that the media has always reported its judgments inaccurate for over four decades.

Commenting on media’s immense coverage towards court proceedings, Munir Piracha, a Supreme Court lawyer, said that it is necessary to make journalists aware about the progress in important cases because ‘a case becomes far-reaching when it receives the consideration of the media.’

However, Piracha is of the view that court’s observations are tentative in nature and media should be careful while reporting such matters so that it could not influence the outcome of the cases.

An official said that it is not easy for common litigants across the country to understand the court orders in English and they remain in confusion despite getting relief from the judiciary.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th, 2013.