Ever since the success of the lawyers’ movement for the restoration of ex-Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Ch, it seems the temerity and chutzpah of lawyers has become proverbial. They feel no qualm of conscience while violating law and humiliating the judges. They have nurtured the habit to coerce the judges to decide the case as per their will without taking into account the prerequisites to judge and decide a case on merit. In doing so, they act with utter impunity. The untoward incident of locking a woman AC in the courtroom in Sargodha on September 09 by some audacious and effrontery lawyers is being condemned by all and sundry. One can sense the gravity of the situation by the fact that the incumbent DC and ASP had to intervene to rescue the woman AC.
Of late, it has become a norm that the lawyers resort to illegal and coercive means to pressurize the judge into giving a flawed and biased verdict. To stop this malpractice, it is the pressing need of the hour to constitute a special act to punish such outlaws. Their licenses should be canceled. Similarly, the bar associations should join hands to draw a code of conduct and cast such black sheep out of their ranks. Moreover, it is the duty of the state to ensure foolproof security for the judges so that they may decide cases on merit without any security risk. For this purpose the number of their security squad should be increased and special powers should be delegated to them. It is deplorable that the custodians of law are involved in violating the law. What shall iron do when the gold rusts? When the law promoters will act like outlaws, the culprit will be more encouraged to follow suit. So, it is not befitting for our honourable advocates to behave irresponsibly and create hindrance in dispensing justice. They should bear in mind that they are not above law, so they must not cross the limits. They must inculcate true professionalism in themselves because both bench and bar are indispensable to each other.
MUHAMMAD FAYYAZ,
Mianwali, September 10.
