Crossing the line

Ever since the new chief justice has taken over, there has been a noticeable change on the judicial front with no suo-motu notice in the last three months. The former chief justice was always in the news, taking suo-motu notice on each and every thing that came his way. There is a general perception that the former CJ went beyond his authority. He intruded into many issues which were primarily federal and provincial matters and no one had the courage to speak against it. Things like setting up a dam fund were never in his judicial duties. It was a federal duty, but the government later joined him in his campaign. According to one report, the required amount for dams is Rs1,700 billion and so far the country has collected Rs10 billion only. I leave it upon the general public to decide whether creating a dam fund was a wrong or right step.

The primary duty of any chief justice is to ensure that the courts deliver justice on time. Necessary steps should therefore be taken to improve the present judicial system where thousands of outstanding cases are still lingering on, especially in the lower courts. The former CJ did nothing about this. It is hoped that the incumbent CJ does something in this regard.

Cdre (r) Sajjad Ali Shah Bokhari

Islamabad