Musharraf case proves supremacy of law: LHC CJ
LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has said the judiciary is committed to dispensing justice to the affected people.
He was addressing a seminar on the topic of ‘Court Reporting and Dispensation of Justice’, organised at the Punjab Judicial Academy by the Press Council of Pakistan (PCP) here on Saturday.
About the Pervez Musharraf issue, the LHC CJ said he did not want to comment on the case as it was a sub judice matter. But, he added, he would like to say one thing that the developments in the Musharraf case had proven the supremacy of the law.
Justice Muhammad Anwarul Haq, Justice Ali Baqar Najfi, Justice Abdus Sami Khan, Raja Muhammad Shafqat Abbasi, Chairman PCP, Muhammad Ramzan, Mujeebur Rehman Shami, President CPNE, and journalist Saeed Aasi were also present on the occasion.
The CJ said justice could not be judged by the number of verdicts but by the authenticity of the verdicts. He said the services of the legal fraternity would be remembered for long. Pakistan was created by a lawyer, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, its idea was presented by another lawyer, Allama Muhammad Iqbal, and a number of other prominent lawyer leaders of the Pakistan Movement had struggled for the creation of this homeland.
The CJ recalled that the lawyers’ movement of 2007 wasunique in the sense that not a leaf was disturbed or any public property damaged as the movement was totally peaceful, pursuing its cause through talks, the most trusted weapon of the lawyers. The LHC CJ hoped that in the future too the judiciary, lawyers, civil society and the media would jointly ensure the supremacy of the rule of law.
The LHC chief justice said the role of the media was very important for the rule of law in the country and the restoration of constitutional rights of the public. He said the contempt of court law was used as a tool in the past to intimidate the journalist community, but the present judiciary has the courage to face positive and constructive criticism and it has not invoked the draconian law in the near past. He said the language of law was more difficult than ordinary language and it requires vast knowledge and expertise to fully comprehend legal terminology. We, the judges, also go through law books while dictating judgements; therefore, journalists should also take extra care while reporting judicial matters so that their news may not prejudice court proceedings.
He further said judges could not decide cases without assistance from the legal fraternity and the role of the lawyers in the dispensation of justice could not be undermined. At the end, the chief justice lauded court reporting in the Lahore High Court and saluted media persons for their responsible reporting.
Speaking on the occasion, PCP Chairman Raja Muhammad Shafqat Abbasi said the era of press releases was over and now the media was an independent entity, like other state institutions, and it was a need of the hour that it should be self-accountable now. Each institution should endeavour for more services to the masses, he added.
The Pakistan Bar Council vice chairman asked media persons to curtail the fashion of tickers on the electronic media.Agencies add: LHC Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said the judiciary was a vibrant institution and its verdicts should not be made controversial.
Justice Bandial said the accused were freed by the courts due to poor investigation by the police, but the courts are accused of freeing culprits. He said the judiciary wanted to reform society.
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