- Not everyone gets special treatment
In an interesting turn of events over the weekend, the Lahore High Court as well as the Islamabad High Court granted bail to Mian Nawaz Sharif and ordered his release purely on medical grounds. Though propriety demands that a person suffering from a medical ailment should be allowed such relief on humanitarian grounds, however, the mode and manner in which the bail proceedings were conducted feeds the curiosity of a layman.
To begin with, the Lahore High Court took up the matter, issued notices, ensured filing of a reply by NAB, heard arguments, perused the record and finally granted bail to Nawaz Sharif. All this was done within a period of 72 hours at most. There is no harm in dispensing justice expeditiously, in fact such style of proceedings caters to the famous maxim “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Yet, when such speedy justice is not available to the common man then naturally the cries of preferential treatment would be heard.
A common may, regardless of his ailment, strives for months at a time for being provided an opportunity of being heard and yet fails to secure the relief he desires. Meanwhile, a three-time former Prime Minister gets precedence and is moved up on the docket owing to his health. For the avoidance of doubt, the life of every person, including Nawaz Sharif, is of supreme importance. Nawaz’s health requires attention and his medical needs should be attended to. The granting of bail in such circumstances is also a welcome move. However, the only bone of contention that I intend to raise, without prejudice to Nawaz Sharif’s deteriorating health, is that the scale should remain the same for every citizen of the country.
In other cases, the same bench taking up NAB matters would adjourn the matter for a week at least, following which a reply would be submitted and the arguments would commence on another date of hearing. In order to dispel the notion of favoured treatment, other similar cases should also be taken up day to day or even in late hours, as long as it secures the supreme interest of justice. Or, as a rule of consistency, every person suffering from a medical ailment which requires urgent attention should be granted bail immediately as a matter of right.
In spite of what may be said on the matter, the notion of preferential treatment cannot be easily dispensed with. For the second time in recent months, a High Court has convened on a Saturday to provide relief to a member of the Sharif family
On the other hand, the proceedings before the Islamabad High Court were even more riveting. Despite the matter being adjourned until Tuesday, an application seeking hearing of the case on Saturday was submitted which was allowed and all the concerned parties were summoned to appear before the divisional bench headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah by 4 pm the same day. The High Courts of Pakistan, as a general rule, do not operate on Saturdays. No cases are fixed or heard over the weekend in the ordinary course of business. Yet, compelling circumstances made the Islamabad High Court convene in the late hours of Saturday so as to take up the bail hearing.
The medical attention so needed by Nawaz Sharif is already being granted to him. He remains admitted in a hospital under treatment and is in constant care of the best doctors available. What difference would the bail which was granted on Saturday make? He is already in the hospital, then what was the urgency of taking up the matter on Saturday? It’s not like he was chained to his hospital bed and would be un-cuffed in the light of the bail order.
At the same time, the mode and manner of proceedings was also quite out of the ordinary. The bench, instead of passing an order on the merits of the case, was keen on fixing responsibility. In fact, a certain degree of pressure was exerted on the government to take responsibility or else submit an affidavit stating they have no objection to the bail being granted. Life and death are matters which are beyond the control of us mortals. It is through divine intervention that matters pertaining to the life of a person are dealt with. How could the government or the NAB take responsibility that something may or may not happen to Nawaz Sharif?
The constitutional oath of a judge compels him to discharge his duties by protecting and preserving the Constitution of Pakistan. Such constitutional powers are not meant to be exercised by conducting a “Panchayat” like proceeding and pass orders by leaning on either of the parties. Legal cases cannot be decided by a yes-or-no answer. The merits of each and every case are to be examined following which a well-reasoned order, detailing the circumstances which led to such a conclusion, has to be passed.
It should not be of concern that which party is ready to take responsibility. Naturally, a matter which has already drawn immense media attention and is of a sensitive nature politically, the government under no circumstances would guarantee the medical fitness of a political leader of such scale. Had this been an ordinary man, the case would most certainly not have been taken up on Saturday, no matter what the circumstances might have been. Even otherwise, the granting of ad-interim post-arrest bail is unheard of. Post-arrest bail is either granted or dismissed. There is no interregnum. As I mentioned earlier, Nawaz is already out of jail premises and is undergoing treatment at a hospital. No difference would be made by the bail order passed on Saturday.
In spite of what may be said on the matter, the notion of preferential treatment cannot be easily dispensed with. For the second time in recent months, a High Court has convened on a Saturday to provide relief to a member of the Sharif family. It would be a treat to see such proceedings being conducted for the common man. Nevertheless, with prayers and best wishes for a speedy recovery to Mian Nawaz Sharif, let us hope that such treatment is meted out to the common man. I would conclude with the following quote:
“Inequality is a fact, equality is a virtue”
