FOUNDATION STONE LAYING CEREMONY OF THE HIGH COURT OF SIND, SUKKUR BENCH, SUKKUR

FOUNDATION STONE LAYING CEREMONY OF THE HIGH COURT OF SIND, SUKKUR BENCH, SUKKUR <!--[if gte mso 10]> FOUNDATION STONE LAYING CEREMONY OF THE HIGH COURT OF SIND, SUKKUR BENCH, SUKKUR BY MOHTARMA BENAZIR BHUTTO Prime Minister of Pakistan Address of Welcome By Mr. Justice Ajmal Mian Chief Justice, High Court of Sind Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Honourable Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Syed Claim Ali Shah, Honourable Chief Minister of Sind, Mr. Iftikhar Hussain Gilani, Federal Minister of Law and Justice, Mr. Yousuf Deda, Honourable Provincial Law Minister, Sind, Honourable Federal and Provincial Ministers and Advisers, Mr. Justice Gul Muhammad Khan, Honourable Chief Justice, Federal Shariat Court, Mr. Justice A. S. Salam, Honourable Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Mr. Justice Abdul Qadeer Chaudhary, Honourable Chief Justice of Baluchistan High Court, Mr. Justice (Retd.) Abdul Hayee Qureshi, a former Chief Justice of Sind High Court, Honourable Senators, M.N.As. and M.P.As., Honourable Judges of the High Courts, Honourable Members of Pakistan and Provincial Bar Councils, Presidents and Secretaries and Members of Bar Associations and Ladies and Gentlemen! It is indeed a matter of great honour for me to welcome you Madam, Prime Minister, and other distinguished guests on this historic occasion of the foundation laying ceremony of the Sind High Court Sukkur Bench Building. My colleagues and I are really indebted to you Madam for having accepted our invitation, despite your national and international commitments and pre-occupations. I may be permitted to say that it was not only the desire of the Judges to have you Madam as the Chief Guest, but the above desire was equally shared by Mr. Qaim Ali Shah and the members of the Bar. I may mention that not only the construction of the above building has commenced but also of the High Court Hyderabad Circuit Bench simultaneously. The factum that construction of the above two buildings has commenced after the induction of your elected Government besides being a good omen also manifests your Government's desire to create better working conditions for the judiciary and to provide justice at the door steps of the people. Madam your Government's above desire is further demonstrated by the fact that in spite of the paucity of funds in the National Exchequer, your Government has agreed to release a sum of Rs.3,50,00,000, to the four High Courts for effecting improvements in the working of the subordinate Courts in the four provinces, on the condition that the Provincial Governments should also contribute equal amount. The above sum has been apportioned among the High Courts as follows: (i) Lahore High Court Rs.1,50,00,000. (ii) Sind High Court Rs. one crore. (iii) Peshawar High Court Rs.60 lacs. (iv) Baluchistan High Court Rs.40 lacs. I understand that the other three Provincial Governments have already agreed to match the above grants. The Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court has already received a cheque of Rs.1 crore 50 lacs on 23-2-1989 from Mr. Gillani, the Federal Minister of Justice. It is hoped that our Provincial Government will follow the other Provincial Governments in this regard. Since after the assumption of my office as the Chief Justice, I have personally visited 15 judicial districts out of 16 judicial districts of Sind, I can say that there is acute shortage of the Courts and residential accommodations for the subordinate judiciary throughout Sind apart from shortage of law books and furniture. The above allocated amount will ease the above situation to some extent. The People of Pakistan after rendering great sacrifices have been able to get democracy restored, and in this struggle you Madam were in forefront. Since the survival of the country depends on having a democratic Government, it is of paramount importance that every patriotic Pakistani should by his acts and deeds stablize the democracy in the country. This cannot be achieved unless and until each organ of the State discharges its Constitutional obligation properly. A written Constitution like one, which we have, contemplates trichotomy of powers between the three organs of the State, namely, Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. They have to act within the bounds specified in the Constitution. Any transgression or encroachment by one organ over the sphere of the other will result into chaos and uncertainty. It is, therefore, necessary that a balance is to be maintained inter se between the above three organs of the State within the limits prescribed by the Constitution. This cannot be achieved unless and until such congenial conditions are created that each organ of the State is able to discharge its Constitutional obligations faithfully in letter and spirit of the Constitution. The function of the judiciary seems to be most difficult one, as it has to scrutinize the actions of the other two organs of the State. The above onerous duty cannot be discharged unless the judiciary is manned by personnel of unquestionable integrity. Madam I have no doubt that your Government will keep the above aspect in mind while making appointments of the Judges. The High Court Sukkur Bench started functioning on regular basis with effect from 7-2-1983 when two Judges were nominated by the then Chief Justice for a period of one year, and I happened to be one of them. It was the time when the movement for the restoration of democracy was at its peak in this region. The people of this region and the lawyers' community in particular played a pivotal role in the above movement at the peril of their personal suffering. The members of the Bar will bear me out that the Sukkur Bench in those difficult days granted maximum reliefs to reduce the rigour and suffering. The performance of Sukkur Bench in terms of quality and quantity has been satisfactory. During the period from 9-1-1979 to 7-2-1989, 23929 cases and miscellaneous applications were filed and 22455 were disposed of, leaving a balance of cases and miscellaneous applications 1474. Madam, I may be permitted to say a few words about the proposed project. The estimated cost of the whole project is Rs.8.263 million, which includes Court building comprising of ground plus one floor having total covered area of 22340 square feet, a mosque, staff quarters and garages etc. The Court building will have two Court Rooms, three Judges Chambers, a Bar Room and a Bar Library Room etc. A sum of Rs.2 lacs has been allocated for the current financial year. However, it has been promised by the Provincial Government that further funds will be arranged. In the end I once again on my own behalf and on behalf of my colleagues thank you Madam and other distinguished guests for having graced the above function. ***