6 A Court is a Court

Introduction

I am forced to write this on account of news appearing on BBC Urdu Website with the title “Larkana judge resigns” (later amended and clarified here). I have always hated the expression “surprise inspection of a court”. I have been always given reasons for it. A court howsoever low can never be inspected, it can only be observed. Even a Chief Justice when he enters the lowest court he ceases to be Chief Justice. He enters not as Chief justice but only as an observer under full authority and discipline of the court functioning. If the so-called superior judges don’t understand this basic duty of theirs then some members of the Bar will pounce on the judges on being dissatisfied (as it happened in Multan).

A court is a Court. Anyone entering the courtroom while functioning is just an observer shorn of all his dignities, titles and authority. In the very first chapter of my memoirs, I have pointed out a part of the history of the judiciary. It is our history. In the last century, at the height of its power, a British High Court judge appeared in the court of a humble magistrate, humble in every respect, to stand a trial for a petty offense, was convicted and fined. The Magistrate trying him became the first Indian to be appointed a judge of the High Court, the only judge in the world whose statute has been placed in the precincts of the court. His judgments cited as a model for all others to read.

This reminds me all I have gone through in my service, All relevant to the matter under consideration:

Case No. 1. We all were attending a judicial conference Islamabad (post-1994 period). I was attending as a retired judge consultant. A minister remarked about a particular serving Chief Justice that he is a mad person. A civil judge then and there announced publicly his resignation saying that he cannot tolerate such indignity of his Chief Justice. I could not and did not know what happened further.

CaseNo. 2  A lawyer who is a politician, both of merit and excellence, keeps on telling publicly that he was offered the post of Governor if he agreed to recommend judges suggested by the party. He refused so was not appointed a Governor.

Case No.3 A Chief Justice, who received higher and higher appointments was asked is he had recommended a judge and whether he ever appear before the judge.. His straight answer was “Never!”. Next question to him was “Why did you then recommend him?”. Answer: “The Law Minister asked me to do it”.

Case No.4. Precedents of the courts are the laws of the land. All the Courts, all the authorities, all the people in the country have to show awareness of it and to observe it.

Precedent No. 1 The Citation of the Supreme Court decision in Shahnaz case is: Shahnaz Begum v Hon’able Judges of the High Court Sind and Baluchistan PLD 1971 S C 677.

The concluding paragraph of the citation is as follows:

     ” …. we would like to add by way of caution that it is of the utmost importance to remember that a superior court should not allow itself to be influenced by sensational reports in newspapers or by what he (the judge) he may have heard  or read outside the court, for, in the first case it may unwittingly be encouraging a trial by the press and in the other case unnecessarily be exposing itself to the criticism that its actions are motivated by bias.”

Precedent No. 2 In a case reported PLJ1974 SC 25 at page 35 held 544 A Cr.P.C. “Its provision is mandatory. Compensation is very well understood expression. It is something which is paid to make up for the loss — the court at the penultimate stage of the case may have to receive evidence to determine the question of compensation — financial position of the accused is not material —power to conduct such inquiry — will be necessarily read into it so as to advance the remedy and to give effect to legislative intent”

 I may be excused for not finding a single example where a court or the police officer or an inquiry officer or an academician noticed or pointed it out.

There are two video one shown on the local television, the smartest police force led by a Mascot Gullo Butt waving his stick in stylish fashion proceeding further and smashing all the cars parked there. While returning he was embraced by a PSP Officer and received a pat on the back by another higher in rank.

Who should have paid for damage to the cars, Gullu Butt or the Police force which so honorably accepted the leadership of Gullu butt and appreciated the damage done to the vehicles?

Conclusion

I have been sending all my writings to newspapers in Pakistan, to knowledgeable lawyers not deeply involved in Politics, and to my close friends. I received no response from any quarters, none at all.

About two months back I put all my writings on this website. I could not be more pleased. So far these have been seen, and probably read also, in more than ten countries, by more than one thousand people, most of them from the USA.

My focus is to keep people of the subcontinent living abroad informed of the exact facts in their home countries so that they can maximize their contributions to these countries, take all the precautionary measures required and provide correct information to people around them abroad.