Chief justice fumes at court smokers

Four-year-old smoking ban routinely flouted at city’s courts.

LAHORE: Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry has reminded court officials that smoking and mobile phone use is prohibited in the Lahore High Court and threatened “severe disciplinary action” for any violation of these rules.

“The chief justice has taken serious notice of the violation of instructions regarding the non-use of mobile phones and prohibition of smoking during office hours by some officers/officials of the establishment of this court, which amounts to indiscipline and misconduct,” read a circular issued here on Monday by an additional registrar (establishment) of the LHC.

“Members of the establishment of this court are hereby once again directed strictly to follow these instructions to this effect in letter and spirit. Non-compliance thereof shall entail severe disciplinary action.”

This is the latest in a series of indications from the chief justice that he will be a strict disciplinarian as head of the Lahore High Court. Since being sworn in on December 9, he has already vowed to crack down on corruption and inefficiency in the judiciary.

Smoking at the LHC and all subordinate courts in the Punjab was banned by a directive issued on December 23, 2006. Under the directive, all assistant registrars and branch in-charges were supposed to put up notices reading ‘No Smoking’ or ‘Smoking is an Offence’ in their branches and offices and ensure that everyone abides by the regulations.

These directives were largely ignored. Though some ‘No Smoking’ signs are up at the LHC building, there are only two such boards up at the Lahore District Courts, and none at Aiwan-e-Adal or the new Sessions Court building.

The LHC corridors are usually filled with smokers, even during court hours.

The courtrooms themselves are off-limits to smokers while in session, though this practice dates back to before the smoking ban.

Umar Gulfam, a litigant at the LHC, said that he was not aware that there was a smoking ban at the courts. “I’ve been here many times and smoked many cigarettes. No one has ever told me not to smoke,” he said.

The situation at the subordinate courts is perhaps even worse. Outside of court timings, court staff and litigants smoke freely in the courtrooms.

The ban on use of mobile phones is also routinely flouted, even by judges. Several subordinate court judges keep their mobile phones switched on. A week ago, this scribe saw a civil-judge-cum-judicial-magistrate at the Model Town courts writing an SMS while conducting a hearing.

Deterrent punishments

The chief justice said on Tuesday the concept of severe punishments in Islam was to curb the crime rate. He said it was imperative to execute such sentences when awarded by a competent court. The CJ was talking to the representatives of the bars of Sargodha, Bhalwal, Shahpur and Gojra. The lawyers welcomed his campaign against corruption in judiciary and invited his attention to other sectors where they said corruption was rampant. They also asked him to setup an LHC bench in Sargodha.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2010.