Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani. PHOTO: ZAHOORUL HAQ/EXPRESS FILE
Former chief judge Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is present in courtroom number one of the Supreme Court, through his portrait at number 20 position, but things have changed on several fronts after him.
Since Justice Tassadaq Hussain Jillani took oath as Chief Justice of Pakistan, the bench number one has taken up every single case, unlike the past when the hearing of suo motu or other high profile cases used to consume the entire day.
But it does not mean that the court led by Justice Jillani has given up or stopped taking suo motu notices. Interestingly, the outgoing chief justice might have not taken suo motu notice on his first day in office but Justice Jillani did so when he took notice of what the media called ‘preferential treatment’ of one particular channel for the coverage of full-court reference held in honour of Justice (retd) Chaudhry.
The court is now a bit different from what it used to be. All the listed cases are taken up during the day and necessary orders are passed. The court has also started observing court’s official timing (9:30 to 11:00 and 11:30 to 1:00) and litigants are not asked to wait for a long time.
The trend of giving remarks and making observations during the hearing of cases is no more there – something troubling, specially for the reporters of electronic media.
The pending petitions filed under Article 184 (3) and suo motu cases are taken up after regular cases. Justice Jillani-led three-judge bench took up Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan’s petition for thumb-impression verification in four constituencies of Lahore after 1pm and passed an order after a brief hearing.
The habitual petitioners remained away from the court during this week. Perhaps they came to know about nature of new top judge. Advocate Zulfiqar Bhutta, who is also among the lawyers who often knock the door of apex court in the name of public litigation, confessed that the new chief justice was careful regarding frivolous petitions.
However, the court is determined not to spare anyone on human rights issues and enforcement of fundamental rights. In Balochistan’s missing persons’ cases, the Justice Jillani-led bench asked the relevant authorities to ensure recovery of the missing persons. The court also asked acting Frontier Corps Inspector General Brigadier Khalid Saleem to restore confidence of common people on uniform.
Justice Jillani has also taken suo motu notice of the rape of two minor girls in Lahore and Karachi and has asked Sindh inspector general police (IGP) to submit detailed report within 48 hours. The court has also directed Punjab IGP to appear and brief on the rape case of Mughalpura, Lahore.
The trend of meetings with the lawyers has also decreased significantly. After assuming charge, Justice Jillani only met with Supreme Court Bar Association. A member of the delegation said the CJ did
not show interest when they gave invitation to him of welcome dinner. He just said, “Thank you.”
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2013.
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