What is expected of him?
Important changes have occurred in the working of the Supreme Court since the retirement of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani tried to rectify the ill-effects of over-indulgence in judicial activism through a policy of judicial restraint. However as leniency exercised by Jilani’s court towards the government enabled officials to defy its orders without fear of punitive action, there remains a need to debate the limits of the new policy. The 32-page landmark judgment on minorities’ rights was a step forward. What remains to be done is for the government to implement it in letter and spirit.
CJ Nasir-ul-Mulk would be remembered for some of the important judgments which have contributed to the strengthening of democracy. During last year’s sit-ins by PAT and PTI at the Constitution Avenue, the CJ passed the order restraining all state functionaries from taking any extra-constitutional steps. The order contributed to the strengthening of the system. Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk also headed the bench that rejected the plea to disqualify Nawaz Sharif for avowedly prevaricating on the floor of the National Assembly. The CJ agreed to preside over the judicial probe in the PTI’s rigging claims. All major parties subsequently hailed the judgment which is rare in Pakistan’s history. The verdict in the 18th and 21st amendment case, declaring that Parliament has the authority to bring in any constitutional amendment and the apex court is not empowered to strike it down on any ground is another judgment strengthening the system.
Justice Khawaja’s 23-day tenure as CJP is too short to allow him to make any significant mark. There is a need for the Supreme Court to concentrate on improving the working of the lower judiciary to provide timely and cheap justice to the common man. The Court needs to discourage frivolous petitioners with dubious agendas from wasting its precious time. It is time political parties also learned to resolve their disputes through talks instead of taking them to the apex court.
