LAHORE: Security at the courts would be tightened so that incidents like Farzana Bibi’s murder don’t ever take place, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said on Wednesday.
He was addressing a full court reference in his honour following the recommendation of his elevation as a judge of the Supreme Court. He said the court had come under fire after Farzana Bibi was murdered on her way to the High Court to receive justice. If all institutions fulfilled their legal responsibilities, citizens would not have to come to the courts [apparently referring to mandamus petitions], he said.
He said courts worked to uphold the supremacy of the Constitution and rule of law. He said all institutions and the judiciary were accountable according to the law. He said dispensation of timely and quality earned the judiciary respect. Despite being burdened with too much work, Lahore High Court judges were passing quality judgments. For the first time in history, the rate of disposal of the cases is higher than the rate of filing. “This is because of judicial policy,” he said.
The chief justice said that he had learnt a lot during his work at the LHC, not only from the judges but also from lawyers.
LHC CJ-designate Khawaja Imtiaz Ahmed also spoke on the occasion.
He lauded several decisions taken by his predecessor saying that he had provided relief to people in several cases including those regarding shortage of electricity and irregularities in Hajj quota among others.
The chief justice designate
Justice Ahmad was born on March 30, 1953, in Pind Dadan Khan. He matriculated from Government High School, Pind Dadan Khan, Jhelum and graduated from Gordon College, Rawalpindi. He received his LLB degree from Bahaud Din Zakariya University, Multan, and began his practice at Pind Dadan Khan as an advocate.
Justice Ahmad was appointed as additional district and sessions judge in 1992. He was elevated as an additional judge of the LHC on September 15, 2009, and was confirmed as a judge on September 5, 2011. According to a hand out issued by the LHC public relations department, Justice Imtiaz is a liberal, independent and a balanced judge. As a judge of the high court, he has delivered opinions and authored judgments on various issues of domestic and international concerns.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 12th, 2014.