ISLAMABAD - Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on Monday said that judiciary should never be submissive to the executive or legislature, adding that it upholds its own duty as a guardian of fundamental rights and supremacy of law. 

“The Constitution has given the judiciary the status of a pillar of the state; it therefore must never be submissive to the executive or legislature but must support these other two pillars in their duties while it upholds its own duty as a guardian of fundamental rights of the people and supremacy of the law,” he said.

The chief justice was addressing a full-court reference in honour of late judges including Late Justice Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui, Late Justice Javed Iqbal, Late Justice Ch Ijaz Ahmed and Late Justice Mian Burhanuddin Khan.

All the judges of Supreme Court, Attorney General for Pakistan Anwar Mansoor Khan, President Supreme Court Bar Association Amanullah Kanrani, Vice-Chairman Pakistan Bar Council Kamran Murtaza and senior lawyers were also present in the reference.

Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar said that judicial profession had at many occasions put judges to the test of deciding between their self interests and the interests of justice.

“I am proud to say that my fraternity has always given the latter preference often even at their own expense. I have always maintained, individually and as the head of this supreme institution that there is no valour in being complacent; no wisdom in limiting our potential by aiming low and certainly no nobility in looking down on those who aim high despite the odds,” said the chief justice.

He added that time never favoured the timid and favoured only the bold and courageous. “If we had not fought for the independence of judiciary, our march towards upholding of fundamental rights of people under the Constitution could never have been possible,” he added.

“As a judge and chief justice of this ultimate forum of justice, I am well aware of the weight of upholding justice that we judges have to live with each time a judgment is to be delivered; each time someone’s fate is sealed with the tips of our pens; each time with borrowed prudence from the law we paint the canvas of legal precedent,” he said.

This responsibility of dispensing justice, the chief justice maintained, is one God Almighty honours only a few of His servants with and with it each one of us Judges bears a heavy but welcome responsibility on our shoulders for the duration of our terms; the responsibility to be fair and just; to guard against injustice and to the best of our abilities uphold the truth, he said. Regarding the departed judges, the chief justice said that they had left no stone unturned in their efforts to fulfil their duties as a judge under the Constitution. “My learned brother judges have departed this world, but have left their imprints on the history of this country. A brief overview of the life they lived reflects a common trait which they shared; of refusing to be complacent and of choosing to be brave in the face of adversity”, he said.