Judicial policy: ‘Justice should not be delayed’

LBA holds ceremony to welcome new LHC chief justice.

LAHORE:

The judicial system should provide speedy justice to the people, Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik said on Wednesday.

He was addressing a ceremony held to welcome him by the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) at Aiwan-i-Adl.

LBA president Chaudhry Ishtiaq A Khan presented six demands on behalf of the lawyers.

“The LBA president has put forward six demands. I have only one demand to make: a peaceful atmosphere should be ensured in courts to allow judicial officers to decide cases without any disturbance,” Justice Malik said.

He said that it was time to seriously consider whether the judicial system was working in the spirit it was meant to. “If a litigant’s case has not been decided in 10 years, what sort of a message are we sending to the people?” Justice Malik asked.

“It is high time we decided whether the system is meant only to provide salaries to judges and privileges to lawyers, or is it for dispensing justice to the masses?” he asked.

“There is a need to be professional. We will have to keep the courts’ atmosphere peaceful. Instead of playing the role of a silent spectator, we have to come forward to stop those who try to humiliate others and create embarrassing situations in courts. The judicial officers are not angels. Sometimes, they, too, make mistakes. They have been directed to respect lawyers, even those who started their practice 10 days ago,” Justice Malik said.

He said that anyone who had any evidence of corruption against a judicial officer should come forward. “We would give exemplary punishments,” he said.

The chief justice also remarked that he did not see why the LBA president had not included the demand for a residential colony for lawyers.

The chief justice said that he could not promise to fulfill all the demands immediately. “However, I will do my level best to address them,” Justice Malik said.

Earlier, the LBA president said that chambers should be constructed for lawyers in Phase II of the sessions court extension project. “The parking problem near the high court should be resolved. There should be no load shedding in courts. Judges should have two stenographers each. A rational mechanism should also be devised to deal with petitions seeking registration of cases. Court orders in this regard are often not implemented. A hospital should be constructed for lawyers,” the LBA president said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2015.