Late mr. Sharaf firidi

LATE MR LATE MR. SHARAF FIRIDI By Prof. Masood Ahmed Abbasi, Karachi There is no occasion for me to mourn the sad demise of pre‑British‑ era `CITY OF DELHI' of Mir Taqi Mir. I am lamenting the loss of a gentleman‑par‑excellence, who belonged to Delhi by incident of birth, and likewise belonged to Karachi by virtue of his abode and bringing 'Up. It is shocking to talk of a person in retrospect, who is very much alive in the hearts of the fraternity of law. Though man is mortal yet there are few who leave deep impressions on the sand of time that waves find hard to wash away. More in jest and less in jute, how it has befallen me to write the obituary of that lively, pushing, dashing, helpful and in the words of his first Senior, Mr. Abdul Hai Qureshi, former Chief Justice of Sindh High Court `GO = GETTER' that was legendary Mr. Sharaf Faridi, the Lawyer by profession, who ruled over the Eat for the longest period of time and classical in manner and style. How frightened I feel to announce that Mr. Sharaf Faridi has passed away, for I apprehend that no sooner than I speak about his sudden demise, he would appear from this wing or the other, wearing a broad smile on his impressive face. But naked truth cannot escape. The cruel hand of death has befallen the man, and Sharaf Faridi has passed away in peace and tranquillity, in the prime of his professional career. Allah in His mercy saved him the agony of suffering infirmity in old age, and lifted him up in prosperity. Perhaps his habit of offering prayers five times a day, unfailingly, pleased his Creator to shower His blessings upon him in his life and also in his death. This was the gentleman I am going to talk about to the extent I personally knew him. His personality had many dimensions, and many would write and talk about him a lot. I would confine my memories relating to the profession of law to which we both belonged. One day while waiting for my turn in the Court of Civil Judge, there appeared in the court‑room an altogether new face wearing the full robe of a Lawyer, including the optional gown, on a summer‑day, with a thud, exacting the attention of every one present in the court‑room, stood in front of the amused Judge, and after bowing down deep in respect, solicited inquisitively from the Court whether he looked like an actor more than a Lawyer. All this stir he created in the Court‑room, without embarrassing anybody and amusing every one including himself, and thus easing the tension that was prevailing in the Court‑room. This was the trait of his character that endeared him to everybody. That was my first acquaintance with this new entrant to the Bar. In mid‑fifties Mr. Sharaf Faridi joined the profession of law and in mid‑nineties, he got himself seated at the top of Himalayas, all alone in the majesty of name and fame, respect and regard, envied by many of us in this field of endeavour. In the profession of law, we the Lawyers have three distinct stages to pass and three phases to cross. The first and the most crucial stage is that of `formation' when the Lawyer struggles hard and strives most to raise his head up to impress his clients and win their confidence. The second phase is the one in which he behaves with complete sense of responsibility and makes objective submissions to earn the confidence of the Court. The third and the final phase is the one, when he, acting above self, works for the welfare and guidance of his fraternity, and wins the confidence of his own colleagues. In other words he attains the leadership of Bar. On all these three standards Mr. Sharaf Faridi accomplished the highest status in the profession of law, for he won the absolute confidence and admiration of his colleagues. He was elected as the President of Sindh High Court Bar Association consecutively for as many as five years, and could have continued longer had death not mercilessly cut the thread of his life short on 17‑1‑1994. This indeed was not an humble achievement in the profession of law, for the lawyers, logical and critical temperamentally as well as by force of their professional requirements, may elect one of themselves, out of grace, for one year once, may be by mistake twice, or exceptionally by force of circumstances thrice, but they are not going to elect any one from amongst themselves for five long years consecutively, unless there is something very `special' and equally `extraordinary' with their brother‑in‑profession to qualify him for this one of the greatest honours at the Bar. Let me share the secret with you that generated this Talisman in the person of Mr. Sharaf Faridi. No doubt his dynamic personality was the basic cause for his being endeared to all and sundry alike. But that would get him elected once, twice or may be thrice, like late Mr. Naseem Farooqi, yet it could not carry him longer. What really turned him legendary during his own life time, was his restless soul of "CHAMPION OF THE CAUSE OF `BAR' COLLECTIVELY AND EVERY MEMBER `INDIVIDUALLY". If there would be any encroachment on the `profession of law or any member of the Bar would be victimised, Mr. Sharaf Faridi would be in the forefront to take cudgels, and would constitute the first line of defence. In espousing the cause of the Bar he never fell short of a Trade Unionist, for he had realised that in a decaying society, ruled over by physical forces, where law was trampled mercilessly under the feet of a Raja's elephant, only collective endeavour and resistance could bear any fruit. He became a devotee to the temple of law and did everything within his means to ensure the `rule of law'. Having no tangible means whatsoever available to him in terms of `money', `influence', `authority' ' or any other `spiritual or temporal power' the secret of his success lay in `HER KEH KHIDMAT KARD MAKHDOOM SHUD'. There are innumerable instances of his taking personal interest in the growth and improvement of the affairs and conditions of the Bar. He was at his best, like the `Master of Ceremonies' in holding, managing, and conducting the functions of the Bar. He would excel every one of us in, taking care of every minor details to ensure the dignity and splendour of the functions and make them memorable for every participant. The Judges of the Superior Courts, famous for their aloofness and traditional cold shoulder, would chum up with Mr. Sharaf Faridi publicly, within the sight of everybody and even within the eye of camera. He enjoyed expertise in selecting Chief Guest for every function and would not spare even professional dignitaries of exacting one favour or the other for the Bar. He would give personal attention to every guest. To describe a few of his achievements for the Bar, it would be pertinent to make mention of acquiring large halls and floors for housing Karachi Bar Association in City Courts Building, his launching Lawyers' benevolent Funds and Insurance Schemes, his forming Housing Society and acquiring 'land for Sindh High Court Bar Members, his acquiring a full floor of a wing of Sindh High Court Building for luxuriously furnishing Bar Room, acquiring newly‑constructed Lawyers Visitors Canteen, Lawyers Clinic, and very many similar Lawyers Welfare Schemes and projects, and thus doing everything within his means to improve the working conditions, dignity and status of the lawyers. He was always struggling practically to provide `relief and `sense of security' to every member of the Bar alike. What turned him great was his unshaken hand‑of‑help even to his adversary‑in‑need. What he could not do on `administrative' and `legislative' level, he would not hesitate to accomplish on `judicial forum' and would fight any battle with anybody and everybody whosoever would be arrayed against the interests of the `profession of law' and or `efficacy and dignity of judiciary'. As a Member of the Provincial and the Federal Bar Council, elected often‑times, he would be instrumental in getting resolutions adopted in the best interests of the Profession of Law and Members of the Bar. He realised the Provincial Governments were not finding it convenient for themselves to implement the express provisions of the Constitution relating to the separation of the `Executive' from the `judiciary' at the original level, even within the extended period of time granted to them, and also assessed that pressure on any `level' or `forum' would not be fructuous. He eventually carried the controversy on `judicial‑forum' and succeeded in obtaining the famous historic judgments from Sindh High Court (citation: Sharaf Faridi v. Federation of Islamic Republic of Pakistan PLD 1989 Kar. 404) which was eventually upheld by the Supreme Court of Pakistan Government of Sindh and .another v. Sharaf Faridi etc. 1990 SCMR 91. Likewise he would not spare persons, other than Advocates, practising the profession of law' in one garb or the other, and would seek judicial remedy if prompt administrative redress was not available. Before parting with his obituary I must make mention of the last verse of the ode to his professional career coinciding with his earthly life. He held the 40th Anniversary of Sindh High Court Bar Association, which coincided with the 40th year of his own professional career (1954‑1994). This function was the masterpiece of his intellectual endeavodrs and organisational capability. It was during this Anniversary Function that while reading .his own paper in his Presidential address on SEPARATION OF JUDICIARY FROM THE EXECUTIVE in the afternoon session of the First day of Seminar, Mr. Justice Ajmal Mian (Dehlvi) while eulogising the services and contribution of Mr. Sharaf Faridi (Dehlvi) to the Bar, had the occasion to observe "I AM GLAD TO NOTE THAT YOU HAVE NOW A PERMANENT PRESIDENT OF YOUR ASSOCIATION". But as they say the ways of nature are strange. Perhaps Mr. Sharaf Faridi had played his last inning, and the mortal passed away in peace and tranquillity, while in harness holding the two most dignified offices of the Bar, that of the fifth‑consecutive‑term President of Sindh High Court Bar Association, and that of the third‑consecutive‑term member of Pakistan Bar Council. May his stirring soul rest in peace, and may Allah grant solace and forbearance to the bereaved family and his legal fraternity! INNA LILLAHE‑WA‑INNA ELEHEY‑RAJEOON