Justice delayed: Litigants suffer due to frequent strikes by lawyers

Lawyers boycott court proceedings on nine occasion on two months.

RAWALPINDI: Court boycotts by lawyers in Rawalpindi have become something of a norm, and quite often, the only people effected by them are litigants.

The Rawalpindi District Bar Association (DBA) has observed a total of nine strikes during the last two months, while performed duty for only 245 hours, according to data available with The Express Tribune.



The strikes have paralysed court proceedings, making it impossible for complainants to get their cases heard. The growing trend of protests, sit-ins and strikes has also affected court proceedings and is one of the leading causes behind the increasing number of pending cases.

A strike call was given by the Punjab Bar Council (PBC) on May 9 after a lawyer was killed in Karachi. On May 10th, the PBC called for another strike to protest an attack on the house of Additional District and Sessions Judge Shiraz Kiyani.

Even incidents that occurred years ago are treated as grounds to go on strike. On May 12, lawyers observed another strike in memory of six lawyers murdered in Karachi some seven years ago. Strikes were observed on May 17 as well as May 19 to protest against a TV channel.

Then followed three weeks of calm, before new reasons to boycott court proceedings were established on June 13, 14 and 18.

Lawyers then boycotted court proceedings on June 24 after the murder of Judge Sakhi Sultan in Quetta.

District courts hear cases daily from 8am to 3pm, seven hours a day. This workday also includes two hours for tea and lunch.

Although complainants sympathised with the reasons the lawyers were upset, they also felt court proceedings should not be boycotted. “My brother is in jail in a murder case. We are waiting for the court’s decision, but the case could not be heard on several dates due to boycotts,” said Sharjeel Jan.

Abdur Rahim, who is pursuing property litigation, said, “Lawyers boycotts are the major cause behind the increasing number of pending cases that cause delays in dispensation of justice for everyone.”

Meanwhile, lawyers argued that there was no one to raise a voice against government injustices against the legal community. “We also suffering financial losses because of these strikes, but, if we remain silent, there is no one left to rise up against injustices,” said DBA General Secretary Junaid Khokar.

He claimed that the boycotts were not hurdle in the dispensation of justice.

“Our boycott or strikes are not planned. If you go through the record, all the strikes will be about the day-to-day happenings,” said Malik Zaheer Arshad, DBA’s former general secretary.

“How can we find justice inside the courts, if outside the whole country is burning,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2014.