Farewell reference for SHC chief justice: Lawyer leaders raise concern over ‘attempts to manipulate judicial process’

Karachi: Corruption and maladministration have caused an increase in litigation in the courts.

Outgoing Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi said this on Thursday as he addressed a full court reference on the eve of his elevation as a judge of the Supreme Court.

He said the bench and the bar should move forward in a same direction for early dispensation of justice.

He said people had confidence in the judicial system of the country and it was the utmost responsibility of the judges and judicial officers to uphold the rule of the law and leave no stone unturned in fulfilling their responsibilities.

The SHC chief justice appreciated the role of the legal fraternity for dispensation of justice and urged the lawyers to not take unnecessary adjournments in pending cases in the interest of the litigants.

He added that the district judiciary suffered from lack of proper facilities and the provincial government had been asked to provide necessary facilities to the district judiciary.

Justice Abbasi expressed the hope that the provincial government would increase the budget for the district judiciary in the upcoming years.

Pakistan Bar Council member Abid Zuberi said the Constitution was under attack and the judges of the high courts were being pressurised. He said it was the responsibility of the judges to protect the Constitution and the rule of the law.

He paid rich tribute to the outgoing SHC chief justice for his services as a judge and the chief justice of high court.

Sindh Bar Council Vice Chairman Kashif Hanif acknowledged Justice Abbasi’s contribution to the SHC. He said that whether someone liked to admit it or not, the superior judiciary has become riven with divisions. He said that there was an urgent need to repair this divisions if the strength of the judiciary was to be maintained.

He said an unprecedented level of external pressure and attempts to manipulate the judicial process had been witnessed and the damage caused to the constitutional framework by this was evident. He added that if the reputation and independence of the judiciary and more importantly the constitutional system was to be preserved, such pressure attempts must be robustly and firmly resisted.

Senior judge of SHC Shafi Siddiqui, Sindh High Court Bar Association President Rehan Aziz Malik, Karachi Bar Association President Amir Nawaz Warraich and Sindh Advocate General Hasan Akbar also addressed the reference.