Corruption in subordinate judiciary will not be tolerated, says new SHC CJ

Karachi
Justice Faisal Arab, senior judge of the Sindh High Court (SHC), took oath as the chief justice of the high court on Tuesday.
Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad administered the oath to the newly appointed chief justice at the high court in an impressive ceremony, which was attended by SHC judges, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, federal and provincial law officers, representatives of bar associations and others.
Talking to the media after the oath-taking ceremony, Arab said corruption in the subordinate judiciary would not be tolerated and strict action would be taken against the officers found to be guilty of misconduct or corruption.
He said majority of the judicial officers were honest and hardworking, but the institution was defamed because of the actions of a few corrupt officers.
Justice Arab, who was elevated to SHC judge in October 2005, said the judiciary was facing several problems, including shortage of judges.
He said more than 10 vacancies of high court judges and 220 vacancies of judicial officers were lying vacant in the district courts, adding that the vacancies needed to be filled because shortage of judges caused hindrance in dispensation of justice. He said appointments of judges would be made on merit.
The chief justice said a mechanism for swift disposal of cases would be introduced to clear the backlog of pending cases.
Arab, who is also heading a three-member bench conducting the high treason trial against former president Pervez Musharraf, said that maintaining law and order was the prime responsibility of the police and other law enforcement agencies, adding that no culprit could escape from punishment if investigation was conducted in accordance with the law.
Responding to a question about the role of the judiciary in curbing terrorism in society, he said the law enforcement agencies and authorities concerned were responsible for eradicating terrorism because judges themselves could not arrest terrorists.
He said the police had to conduct proper investigation of all cases and then the courts would decide the cases on the basis of available evidences.
To a query regarding frequent boycotts of the courts, the chief justice said the trend should be discouraged because it did not serve the purpose of the litigants, who were the most affected by the repeated strikes.