REPLY TO ADDRESS OF WELCOME

SUPREME COURT OF AZAD J & K SUPREME COURT OF AZAD J & K REPLY TO ADDRESS OF WELCOME By MR. JUSTICE RAJA MUHAMMAD KHURSHID KHAN, Acting Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Azad J & K Respected brother, Members of the .Bar, the Bench and. other worthy officers of the State! ASSALAM-O-ALAIKUM ! On my assumption of the office of Acting Chief Justice of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, the rich dinner and the warm and kind welcome, which you have extended this evening, has indeed deeply touched me. You have been kind to refer to me ih the most generous words, which, as every one of. us knows, are generally expressed on such occasions. But the real fact is , Speeches, which are made today, are so swathed in the cotton wool of conventional phrases that they serve to illustrate the adage that speeches were given to man to conceal his thoughts. 2. Having taken oath of office on 8th October, 1980, AlIa6 the Almighty has moved me to the position of the senior most member of a great fraternity of colleagues in an equal partnership. The post of Chief Justice, I realise, is like the course of true love and it never runs smooth. I am, however, comforted by the thought that I, by the grace of God Almighty, am assured all over Azad Kasbmir by the ungrudging assistance and support of the Bar. This fact gives me strength and courage to uphold and establish the traditions befitting to the institution, May God help me in achieving these ideals. We should remember that we are all brothers though assigned different duties, For a happy life we should all live like brothers, act like brothers and tbink like brothers. Gentlemen the prestige of the Bar is the prestige of the Bench and the prestige of the Bench is the prestige of the Bar and both these Limbs should work in close co-operation and harmony to safeguard the glorious traditions attached to the institution to which both Bench and the Bar are wedded. 3. I have, however, my own limitations in performing the responsibilities that I have been called upon to discharge. You will agree with me and I am also fully alive to the fact that such duties cannot be performed without the guidance of God Almighty artd the co-operation of the Bar. I fully realise that I have been preceded by a Judge, in the person of Mr. Justice Ch. Rahim Dad Khan Sahib Chairman Shariat Court, who had a long experience with the working of the Court which I. lack. The high tradition, in face of my failings, which this institution had to set up and maintain is not an easy task to be accomplished. It is, therefore, in the spirit of great humility and keen sense of my own shortcomings that I have entered upon my office. 4. It is settled that without the existence of competent, strong, inde pendent and fearless Bar the work of this Court, which is still in its infancy, would be well neigh impossible. Justice, experience tells us, depends in its success to a very large extent on the measure of assistance and co-operation given by members of the legal profession. The Bars in Azad Kashmir by no means lack behind any State in producing men of outstanding calibre practi cally in all fields of learning and its members have distinguished themselves on the Bench, in politics and administration. It is my hope that the legal profession by the passage of time would endeavour constantly to adjust its role to the changing needs of society. 5. It is time honoure3 concept, which admits of no exception, that judiciary should be independent and free from any interference by the execu tive. The executive should avoid creating an unhealthy sense of insecurity in the minds of the Judges ;thus impairing the ability to do justice without favour or fear. 6. Judiciary is the guardian of the conscience of the people as well as the law of the land. It sits aloof and detached from the political arena or the seats of executive business away from the storms and stresses which so often assail them. Its decisions are, therefore, more apt to reflect unbiased justice and traditional impartiality than political expediency and arbitrary action. Justice has nothing to do with expediency or the dictates of political exigencies. It is rooted and grounded in the fundamental instincts of humanity in respect of equity and good conscience. This is why our Holy Prophet (peace be upon himl) has said that one hour of justice is worth prayers of 60 years. Hazrat Ali has said: "Be fair, just and impartial in your dealings ; so that even the influential may not dare take an undue advantage and the uninfiuential and the poor may not be disappointed in your justice and fairness." These high ideals are diflicul'. to achieve and accomplish in their perfection but any one who wears the robe of a Judge is required to inculcate them honestly and to the best of his ability and capacity and Insha'allah I shall try faithfully to rise to the occasion and do justice between individual and individual and between individual and the State. 7. What would be the final shape of things is very diflicuit to foresee at present but I am confident that whatever the democratic set up may be, it would have no departure from the mandate of Holy Qur'an and Sunnah.