The constitution of Pakistan binds the judiciary to uphold the rule of law and mete out justice in a fair and impartial way to everyone who comes before it, as justice is not a privilege but a right. “Administer justice according to the law and treat your office as a public trust. It is, indeed, a very sacred public trust. Honesty, fairness, wisdom and integrity, of course, these are such virtues which are always honoured, hence, one must stick to them,” Justice Jawad S Khawaja, a Supreme Court judge, said while addressing the senior civil judges the other day. He said the judges, whether they belong to the superior judiciary or subordinate courts, must dispense justice to everyone who comes before them. He said the district courts were the real face of judiciary, and its judges should make all possible efforts to provide easy and speedy justice to the litigant public. A few days ago, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry urged the officers to make sure that they were working for the Pakistani state and not for any individual whether he was their boss or a political leader.
He told them to base their verdicts on merit and avoid being influenced in decision making. “I assure you that you will find the superior courts of the country behind your back in cases where you are forced to make decisions which are not covered under the rules and are not in public interest,” the chief justice said.
He quoted a statement by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in his famous address to the gazetted officers of Chittagong: “You have to do your duty as servants; you are not connected with this political or that political party; that is not your business.” In the same address, the chief justice said, our Quaid further said: “Make the people feel that you are their servants and friends, maintain the highest standard of honour, integrity, justice and fair-play. If you do that, people will have confidence and trust in you and will look upon you as friends and well wishers.”
The chief justice said the court had observed several times, particularly in a hearing on Islamabad’s F-9 Park case, that the public functionaries are supposed to adhere to the principle of transparency while performing their duties and were not bound to implement any orders contrary to the law. They are only obliged to carry out lawful orders of their superiors, he said.
The chief justice said that in another case the apex court had struck down a notification of promotions to BPS-22 of 51 bureaucrats, as they were being promoted on arbitrary consideration without any concrete policy or firm principles. The court asked the government to frame rules and policy for promotions so that deserving civil servants climb the ladder by virtue of their qualifications, performance and experience, he added. “It is your prime responsibility to work with integrity, honesty, well within prescribed rules and regulations. If you carry out your responsibility as per rules and regulations you will be vindicated in the eyes of the public,” he asked the officers. “It is not the function of the court to please the people, but to uphold the laws. An independent judiciary means not only a judiciary which can resist the pressures of the governments but also the pressures of the public opinion,” the chief justice noted.