Justice delayed, is justice denied

Justice delayed, is justice denied

William E.Gladstone

Justice delayed, is justice denied

Pakistan's civil and criminal justice system faces countless problems, difficulties and challenges.  Of these, delays in decision-making and especially long-delayed cases are the most important.  In this regard, if we look at our region or other countries, it becomes clear that this problem is not only specific to Pakistan, but also the existing justice systems in other countries are facing the same problems and difficulties.  In other words, this chronic problem has not been confined to developing societies, but has become a constant source of concern and concern for almost all nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom.  The number is more than 1.77 million.  The number of cases pending in the Supreme Court is 37,843.  Despite the best efforts of the courts, the number of pending cases is increasing.  Not as many cases are decided as new ones.  We should not be satisfied with the fact that this problem is not limited to developing societies but is a constant source of concern for all nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom.  This problem is not so serious in societies where the death penalty is suspended, but we do not have it.  It has also happened that the "murderer" had disappeared several years before his appeal for clemency against his death sentence was approved.  It has also happened that the young man who was the victim of revenge of influential enemies got old and was acquitted. In the pursuit of justice, properties are sold.  Eating and drinking well destroys the poor and precious years of life which has troubled the thinkers and the people suffering from humanity. Needless to say, the solution to this problem is not to build hundreds of new courts.  Thousands of judges should be appointed, firstly, the country's economy can not bear such a burden, secondly, the overall thinking of society will not change.  The mourning of ignorance in this regard is futile.  Here, well-educated people go to court with minor disputes.  Until the Islamic values of patience, tolerance and forgiveness are inculcated in the hearts of the people, the scourge of litigation will not go away.  In this regard, it is very important to change the attitude and role of the police, which is under the influence of one side in the fight of children in the street, and also increases the work of the courts by imposing terrorism provisions on infants.  The solution to the problem of judicial delays is not a massive increase in the number of judges, nor the establishment of special courts, but a reduction in delays in cases, which can only be done by judges who insist that lawyers are prosecutors.  And all parties must adhere to the deadline set for the decision of the case.  For such an endeavor, the judges must be thoughtful and dedicated.  Judges will likely face bitterness from lawyers and prosecutors whose privilege of setting a hearing date of their choice will be disrupted.  Whatever the case, delays in adjudicating cases can be largely prevented by the administration of justice, not by the establishment of new courts or an increase in the number of judges.  I would stress that Jalil officers are responsible for adopting techniques that will reduce delays and speed up the process of adjudication of civil and criminal cases within the limits of law and order.  Lead to the outcome of cases.  However, let me warn you here that speeding up cases at the expense of justice cannot be called justice.  It is necessary to strike a balance between the legal truths of "delay in justice, denial of justice" and "haste in justice, murder of justice".  I am not saying that speedy and efficient court should not be the last resort but it should not be at the cost of justice.  In the famous case of Muharram Ali v. Federation of Pakistan, I had expressed the following views on this issue. ”  I have nothing to say

The reason for this delay in the delivery of justice is to some extent the people and to a large extent the judiciary and lawyers.  We have a plethora of frivolous and unnecessary cases which increase the judicial burden and not only delay decisions but also delay the hearing of important cases.

 In addition, these unnecessary cases waste the vast financial resources of the federal and provincial governments.  Various governments have taken steps in this regard, but despite this, there has been no reduction in these unnecessary and frivolous cases.

Yafa IV Hazrat Ali says that the system of disbelief can work but not of oppression.  Servant Churchill said during World War II that no one can defeat us if the courts are giving justice to the people of Britain.

 Judicial decisions in Pakistan have always been controversial.  There were also judges like Justice Munir who justified the violation of the Constitution and added a new sand, due to which we survived years of dictatorship.  We had no constitution and no constitution.  It is impossible to compensate for the damage done to this country by personal dictatorship and our judiciary is equally responsible for this.  Our courts continue to recognize the right of all military rulers to rule.  Our judges continued to take oaths under the PCO.  Let's look at history. We have no good examples of jurisprudence except for a few.  Whatever the system was, our courts failed to protect it.

 Democracies and their judicial systems around the world are based on the principle that true freedom requires the rule of law, as well as a judicial system based on the protection of the rights of one citizen and the rights of another.  Don't rely on  This eloquent gesture also implies that if there is no truth in a society, then the values of equality, justice, peace, love and unity disappear and such a system of governance is plunged into utter darkness.

The biggest misfortune of our justice system is the filing of frivolous petitions. According to the case statistics in the courts, a judge in the lower judiciary has 160 cases in 6 hours while a judge in the High Court has 40 cases in 5 hours.  Have to listen  This judge gets only two minutes and 15 seconds for a case.  The second reason is complaints of delays in cases, the main reason is the deliberate prolongation of cases, those who cause delays in cases around the world are fined and here the livelihood of lawyers depends on delays.

 Now that the time has passed but no legislation has been passed, now is the time to reform the law.  Running 19th century law in the 21st century.  It is sad to say that the judicial system has been burdened for centuries. A civil judge receives more than 160 cases daily.  Just by looking at the demands of the modern age, you will be left far behind in the race of time and progress.  By avoiding timely reforms in the judicial system, so much burden has been placed on the judiciary that it is becoming unbearable.

The laws of the 19th century cannot meet the requirements of the 21st century.  When a judge receives 160 cases in a day, it is natural for them to pile up in months and years, taking into account human capacity.  The judicial system can only move in the right direction if the cases come to a minimum or the number of judges is increased in proportion to the number of cases.  In the past, there has been a lack of coordination between the judiciary and the administration in improving the judicial system.  In the 1990s, tensions with the government escalated to the point where the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court demanded an increase in the number of Supreme Court judges.

Given these facts, the revival of legal values requires a judicial package.  With legal reforms and the passage of time, legislation, laws that are inconsistent with the current era should be abolished, vacancies of judges should be filled soon, while training of judges is also a matter of time.  The use of is also inevitable.  The number of cases can be reduced through mediation. We have not paid attention to out-of-court settlement of cases (ADR). It is being worked on in Punjab now. The ADR system can be improved.

 The fact is that while the people cite the difficulties in obtaining justice and the agony of waiting for the verdicts of millions of pending cases, they are the lack of justice, democratic fruits, basic human rights and socio-economic justice.  Cry cry cry.  It is the responsibility of the bench to provide speedy justice.