The attitude of our judiciary in the lower courts is very lax; judges do not feel any compulsion to inform litigants of their unscheduled holidays and litigants from other cities suffer due to this administrative lapse. Unlike other professions, there is no appointment system so many people are waiting for the judge to appear. There is a list of the cases that the judge will hear but it is never time specific.It seems strange that though courts are public property but there is nothing there to facilitate the public.The conditions are horrible; there are no toilets or canteen for females who are forced to come to court.
Judges make it a point that most cases presented by litigants in person are either dismissed in beginning or later, and this often happens in simple to understand cases and matters.Another peculiar aspect of the judicial service is that there seems to be no penalty for judges whose judgments are reversed by higher courts or who have erred as if there is exemption for them. The Judiciary in Pakistan violates limits imposed for deciding a case, by parliamentary acts, owing to manpower deficiencies and there are backlogs of tens of thousands of cases.
Even in cases where the issue is of maintenance of children, the courts require litigants to pay huge fees, andthen take months to order maintenance for the child. While our lawyers and judges become rich, anyone who is stupid enough to seek justice in this country ends up losing the shirt on their backs. There is no authority to check the Judiciary in Pakistan and they can do whatever they want!
M. SHAIKH,
Islamabad, May 25.