'National Judicial Policy criticised'

Lahore- The Punjab Bar Council (PbBC) has said policy of providing speedy justice under National Judicial Policy is murdering spirit of justice and people are being denied opportunity to present their cases before the courts. Vice chairman PbBC Mumtaz Mustafa addressing a press conference here on Tuesday along with other member of the bar council rejected the national judicial policy and urged the judiciary to stop the policy of speedy justice. He said the courts should not do its job in haste if the judicial system is to be made strong in the country. PbBC will oppose the young lawyers hiring for recording of cases evidences under the new judicial policy, which is like giving recording of evidence on contract, he said. Mumtaz Mustafa said he did not admit that corruption has been controlled upto 95 percent in the subordinate judiciary. He added that just 5 percent judges of the lower courts were honest while rest of the lower courts judges are fully corrupt. The PbBC vice chairman said the statements chief justice of Lahore High Court show that 95 percent of corruption has been controlled in lower judiciary. He said, If we admit that there is only 5 percent corruption in sub ordinate judiciary then it must be the time of Khalafat Rashida and it was exemplary thing but it is not based on facts. He criticized the statements in which the LHC chief justice praised the steps taken by chief Minster Punjab Shahbaz Sharif. Mumtaz Mustafa said the increase of salaries of judges has not ended corruption in the lower judiciary and requisite steps are needed to control the corruption in judiciary. About speedy justice under national judicial policy the vice chairman PbBC said judges and courts have killed more people than killed in the wars by speedy judgments and denial of sufficient opportunity to people present their cases during proceedings. The case of former Prime Minister Zulfiqar ali Bhutto is the example of such killing in which the courts conducted speedy trial due to one reason or other and ignored a number of related facts due to haste. He said Justice Naseem Hussan Shah admitted that a mistake was done in the case of Bhutto He said the PbBC wants end of corruption in the judiciary and decision of cases on merit. He criticized SCBA President Qazi Anwar on his meeting with Nawaz Sharif on judges appointment issue saying that he was not lawyers representative. He said Qazi Anwar was president of SCBA which has 1415 members and the lakhs of lawyers across the country have not voted him. Similarly, the National Coordination Council (NCC) was not representative body of lawyers. Lawyers representative bodies are Provincial bar councils and Pakistan Bar Council which should be given representation in the commission for appointment of judges of Supreme Court and High Courts.