Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Friday said no obstructions towards independence of judiciary and rule of law would be tolerated in performing the sacred duty of administration of justice.
Addressing a full court reference at the Supreme Court on the eve of retirement of Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, the CJ said it was incumbent upon the judiciary to respond to cases of violation of fundamental rights and give authoritative opinion on issues and question of law and public importance.
“The apex court will continue using its powers in the best interest of nation and within well defined parameters set by the constitution”, the CJ said.
He said, “We are aware that after the historic judgment of July 31, 2009, which declared the November 3, 2007 emergency as unconstitutional, many consequences have flown including the removal of judges from the superior courts. Many incumbent judges of the superior judiciary were made to leave, while in case of Balochistan, the entire High Court stood vacant. But this is the price one has to pay for establishing the rule of law and supremacy of the constitution.”
The CJ said since the restoration of the present judiciary, all judges of the Supreme Court and high courts had been performing their duties to the best of their ability and with great alacrity and legal acumen.
“Despite the challenges faced in view of massive backlog of cases, present judges stretched themselves hard to achieve remarkable object of disposal of cases and have authored many landmark judgments on important constitutional and other judicial matters.”
“I look forward to the continued persistence and cooperation of my brother judges for dispensing our constitutional duties in a most appropriate manner”, the CJP said. He said events triggered by the November 3, 2007 action of a military dictator, the resistance of the judges, the historic movement of lawyers’ community, watchful media, informed civil society, followed by the landmark judgment of Sindh High Court Bar Association vs Federation of Pakistan pronounced on July 31, 2009, declaring the action as ultra vires, indeed marked a watershed in the political and the constitutional annals of Pakistan.
“For the first time in the chequered history of this nation, the superior judiciary got confident enough to exercise its jurisdiction, call a spade a spade and follow the command of the constitution and enforce it in letter and spirit,” he said.
Justice Iftikhar said present day superior judiciary had emerged as a true custodian of the fundamental rights of the people and the guarantor of the constitutional dispensation in the country.
He said it had been noted with concern that constitutionally ordained obligations of the court to exercise its jurisdiction and take notice regarding infringement of fundamental rights were being projected in a negative light by some individuals.