Supremacy of Constitution judiciary’s responsibility: CJP

KARACHI: The supremacy of the Constitution is the judiciary’s responsibility, said Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali on Friday.
He stressed the need for activating the process of self-accountability in the judiciary as well as in the legal fraternity.
Addressing an annual dinner function hosted by the Sindh High Court Bar Association at the Sindh High Court’s lawn here, the chief justice made it clear that matters in the Supreme Judicial Council would be dealt with strictly in a transparent manner.
He said that the Supreme Judicial Council’s issue was blown out of proportion in the media and assured the judges of the high courts and that of the Supreme Court that no judge would be mala fide dragged in the proceedings.
The chief justice said that there was no deficiency in the present judicial system but only that some people involved in the process of the system did not perform their duties with due responsibility.
The chief justice said that unnecessary delays in the disposal of cases were not only a social issue but also a challenge for the judicial system. He said that the main reasons behind such delays were adjournments and strikes by the legal fraternity.
The chief justice expressed his apprehensions that if such unnecessary delays in the disposal of cases were not stopped then the people might lose their trust in the system.
He said that the Supreme Court in the month of October disposed of 1,391 cases.
The chief justice said that the Supreme Court had relaxed the condition for lawyers for practice in the Supreme Court from 10 to 7 years while 40 percent of seats in the judicial service would be specifically reserved for the lawyers.
He urged the lawyers to strengthen the judiciary so that cases of litigants were decided in an effective manner.
The Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, Justice Faisal Arab, said that a plan has been made for early disposal of cases. He said that judicial officers had been appointed to fulfill the vacant posts in the subordinate judiciary.
He said that the judiciary also took action against judicial officers and dismissed 11 judicial officers for misconduct, corruption and incompetency. The President of the Sindh High Court Bar Association, Abid S Zuberi, also spoke.