Newly appointed Chief Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed on Saturday, in the maiden address, urged the Establishment of the Lahore High Court (LHC) to transform the LHC into ‘a true symbol of justice’ for the people of the province by removing all loopholes and bottlenecks in the working of this institution at the earliest.
The CJ gave a work-plan for the gathering of over 1,200 officials from low cadre Naib-Qasids to top officialdoms of the court, including deputy registrars and heads of various LHC braches which have administrative link with the working of entire judiciary of the province.
About 500 chairs were put in the LHC lawn facing the Mall Road for the address of the new CJ but the whole of the lawn was jam-packed with the employees.
The CJ said the entire staff of court, from clerks to the registrar, is the foundation on which LHC stands and its working, whether it is good or bad, depends on their mind sets and honesty towards their work.
He hinted at the corruption in some of the LHC branches that deal with the litigants and lawyers regarding their petitions and applications, adding that there were some problems in affairs of the branches in Old Building of LHC.
Warning the employees about corruption or bad practices, the CJ said that if an ordinary person commits a mistake or violates a rule, he may be spared but in the case of violations or mistakes by an official, the institutions get ruined.
He said, “The LHC clerks, deputy registrars, registrar and the judges are like one family.” However, if a family member commits a wrong, he must be punished to avoid further mishaps, he added. “But punitive action, if required in any case, will be taken under the rules and injustice will not be done to any of the employees,” he said, adding that, “How can we give justice to people if we can not do
justice with employees of the court?”
“Forget situations of the past, focus on the present, give output to me, enhance your performance and I will for sure try to end all of your deprivations,” the CJ assured, adding that the transfers and promotions in the next grade will be done on merit only.
He said that, “No one is above the law. I will follow the rules and the law while running the affairs of the court and I expect that you will also follow the rules and working, remaining in your domain.”
About a proposal to give forced retirement to the LHC employees after 25 years of service, the CJ said that he did not believe in such proposals and they did not need to fear or have job insecurity.
“I know that it is unfair to send home an officer or non-officer after 20 or 25 years of service when they are busy in marrying their children,” he said.
