Full court reference on the demise of mr. Justice munawar ahmed mirza, judge, supreme court of pakistan

FULL COURT REFERENCE ON THE DEMISE OF MR FULL COURT REFERENCE ON THE DEMISE OF MR. JUSTICE MUNAWAR AHMED MIRZA, JUDGE, SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN ADDRESS BY Mr. Justice Saiduzzaman Siddiqui, Chief Justice of Pakistan [10th December, 1999] Brother Judges, Mr. Attorney‑General; Messrs Advocates‑General, Vice‑Chairman, Pakistan Bar Council, Presidents of the Bar, Associations and Members of the Bar! We have assembled here this morning in this Full Court Reference to pay homage and respect to our distinguished colleague; Justice Munawar Ahmed Mirza, who passed away on 24th November, 1999. This is indeed a sad moment for us, as our colleague died rather suddenly and somewhat at a young age. Justice Munawar Ahmed Mirza was born at Quetta on 18th August, 1942. He received his early education in Balochistan and graduated from Degree College, Quetta in the year 1962. He later went to Lahore and obtained his LL.B. degree from University Law College, Lahore, in August, 1964. After completing his Law Course he started legal practice at Quetta where his father, late Muhammad Ahmed Mirza, was established as one of the leading lawyers of Balochistan. He was enrolled as an Advocate of the High Court of West Pakistan and as an advocate of the apex Court in 1973. He served as Honorary Lecturer, University Law College, Balochistan from 1972 to 1985. He remained the Vice‑President of Balochistan Bar Association from 1973 to 1978. He was elected Member, Sindh and Balochistan Bar Council in 1976. and Member, Balochistan Bar Council, during the years 1978 to 1981. He held the elected office of the Vice Chairman, Balochistan Bar Council, during 1978‑79, 1979‑80 and 1980‑81. He was member of the Syndicate, University of Balochistan, Quetta, from 5th October, 1982 to 5th October, 1984 and then from 8th April, 1991 to 7th April, 1993. He was Standing Counsel of Balochistan Railways from the year 1970 till March, 1985. He was Legal Adviser, Agriculture Bank, Balochistan from the year 1971 till March, 1985; United Bank Limited (Balochistan) and Habib Bank Limited between the years 1970 to 1981. He was also Standing Counsel WAPDA (Balochistan Province) from the year 1971 to March, 1985. He held the office of the Advocate‑General, Balochistan and Chairman, Balochistan Bar Council from 26th September, 1981 till 30th March, 1985. He was Chairman, Provincial Zakat Council Balochistan from 23rd May, 1985 till the year 1990. He remained Member, Selection Board, University of Balochistan, Quetta, from 27th March, 19$3 to 27th March, 1984 and from 31st July, 1985 to 31st July, 1986. He was elevated as Additional Judge of the High Court of Balochistan on 31st March, 1985 and was appointed as a permanent Judge of the said Court on 31st March, 1988. He acted as Chairman, Labour Appellate Tribunal, Balochistan from the year 1985 till his elevation to the Supreme Court. He was also Chairman, Customs Appellate Tribunal, Balochistan, from the year 1990 till September, 1996. He was .appointed as Acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Balochistan from 25th June, 1990 to 12th July, 1990 and 13th March, 1991 to 13th July, 1991. He was later appointed as the permanent Chief Justice of the High Court of Balochistan on 29th September, 1991 and remained there as such till his elevation to the Supreme Court on 16th November, 1996. He was also Member, Provincial Review Board, from 1989 to 1991 and Chairman, Provincial Review Board. from 1991 to 1996. He was also Member of Federal Review Board, from 10th August, 1991 to 28th June, 1994. He attended a Course on "Delays in Disposal of Cases and Court Management" in National Judicial College; University of Nevada at Reno, United States of America during the month of June, 1985. He visited Egypt in March/April, as a Member of Official Delegation headed by Justice Minister. He also visited Iran as a Member of the Delegation headed by the then Chief Justice of Pakistan. He visited Kazakhistan as a Member of Judicial Delegation headed by the then Chief Justice of Pakistan in April, 1993. He remained as acting Governor Balochistan from 27th April to 14th May, 1995, 3rd August to 21st August, 1995 and 7th August to 28th August, 1996. As a Judge of the Supreme Court he was nominated as Chairman, Disciplinary Committee of Pakistan Bar Council, from 27th May, 1997 to 24th November, 1999. He was Member, Executive Council of Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, from 12th December, 1997 to 24th November, 1999. He also remained as Chairman, Central Zakat Council, from 21st April, 1998 to 24th November, 1999. A perusal of the above life‑sketch of Justice Munawar Ahmed Mirza reveals that he led a full life, attained enviable heights in his professional career as an advocate and as a Judge of superior Courts. He got right opportunities, which he successfully availed. Late Justice Munawar; Ahmed Mirza though suffered from heart ailment for quite sometime, he never let his friends and colleagues feel about his illness. He remained composed throughout and always put up a brave face. His illness did not deter him from undertaking the onerous duties as a Judge which he performed with great sense of responsibility, compassion and dedication. Just before proceeding to Lahore on 31st October, 1999, for his medical check‑up which proved to be his last sojourn, Justice Mirza was nominated as a member of a larger Bench constituted for hearing of some important pending cases. I noticed during the proceedings of the Bench on a number of occasions that Justice Mirza was not keeping well and offered him to take rest and proceed on leave. He politely declined saying that he would not like that for his personal reasons the working of the Bench be disturbed and dislocated and continued working on the Bench till its conclusion. His consciousness and sense of duty was remarkable. God had gifted late Justice Mirza humane qualities in abundance. He was extremely courteous, polite, hospitable and tolerant with his friends and colleagues. He was a loveable person and will be remembered for long by his friends and colleagues for his qualities of head and heart. In the demise of Justice Mirza, this Court lost one of its distinguished, conscientious and dedicated Judge and the country , a legal luminary of high caliber and exceptional qualities. He left behind a void, which will be difficult to fill in. God has gifted Justice Mirza humane qualities in abundance. He was always keen to help and serve the poor and down‑trodden. His qualifications and rich experience in the field of law placed him in a unique position of being able to tackle and resolved most intricate and complicated issues and problems that came up for determination before him. During his judicial career as Judge of the High Court of Balochistan and later on its Chief Justice, and subsequently, as Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Justice Mirza decided umpteen cases and disputes, and sat on important Benches, constituted to hear important cases. He authored judgments on almost all disciplines of law including interpretation of the provisions of the Constitution and laws pertaining to civil, criminal, labour and service matters. The record of judgments and opinions authored by him clearly demonstrate the deep perception and analytical mind that he possessed; and his ability to easily sift tht6ugh huge array of facts and issues of law, reaching the central and core points, and getting them untangled. His reasoning and findings are reflective of the clarity of perception and legal. acumen that he possessed. Justice Mirza had the ability of interpreting the proposition of law in a manner consistent with the evolving modern legal concepts and doctrines. He believed in, and practised, the well‑known Islamic principle of tampering justice with mercy and administering justice fairly. Let me quote an observation from his judgment in the case of Wajihu‑ul‑Hassan Zaidi v. Government of Punjab 1997 SCMR 1901, wherein he observed: "On thorough appraisal of precedent case‑law, we feel that undisputedly the purpose of Constitutional provisions is to faster justice and eliminate the possibility of perpetuating illegality. Principal object underlying judicial review of order passed or actions taken by administrative or quasi judicial forums is to respect law and enforce supremacy of Constitution. There is no doubt that writ jurisdiction is completely discretionary in nature and can be invoked to combat blatant illegalities, total lack of jurisdiction, unwarranted exercise of authority otherwise not vested by law or preventing detention of ill‑gotten gains. Evidently the purpose of exercising such authority is corrective and directory, which has to be tampered with equity. However, the discretionary powers vested in the Supreme Court under Articles 185 and 187 of the Constitution are wider and on higher pedestal. It is obligatory for this Court to ensure that apart from legal requirement, the equitable aspects are not violated, so that complete justice can be carried out, as observed in AIR 1982 SC 1493 'if equitable situation demands after legal formulations not to take controversy to its logical end, the Supreme Court would be failing in duty, if it omits equitable consideration and moulds the final order merely to the exercise of its extraordinary jurisdiction. The same analytical mind and humane attitude is reflected through his other rulings and opinions, a glimpse of which could be seen in the Law Reports. Indeed such Reports, are replete with his illuminating judgments, which show his great humane personality, adherence to the norms and principles of law and lucidity of style and expression. My colleagues on the Bench and lawyers appearing before him, vividly recall that Justice Mirza was a soft spoken and courteous person. He had pleasant and endearing manners and kindly disposition. His demeanour was so friendly and his manners so humble that he never let any tension or conflict to arise during proceedings; and he particularly let the counsel feel at ease to fully argue and comprehensively present his points and submissions. A unique feature of Justice Mirza for which he would be long remembered, besides his talent and expertise in the field of law, was that he led a simple and unpretentious life, free from any trappings of superiority or condescension. He always displayed a pleasant and friendly smile on his face. He was an extremely friendly and loving person. He would be greatly missed by his colleagues, friends and members of the Bar. Justice Munawar Ahmed Mina left behind a widow, two sons and a daughter. I and my colleagues on the Bench convey our heartfelt condolences to the members of his family and pray to God Almighty to keep the departed soul in peace and to give patience and forbearance to the family members to bear the loss. (Amin)!