Address

LIST OF NOTIFICATIONS REPRODUCED IN THE <!--[if gte mso 9]> Address By Muhammad Makhdoom Ali Khan Attorney‑General for Pakistan. Drawing a line, keeping a boundary and choosing between two equally well propounded propositions is never easy. Many of us spend a lifetime avoiding difficult choices. Troublesome decisions, most of us would like to postpone. A person who chooses for himself the career of a Judge consciously embarks upon an arduous course. For that alone he deserves our respect. The demands of office of a modern day Judge make his path particularly thorny. To guard his independence he must lead a cloistered life. Yet, his life and work are in the public domain. They receive close scrutiny. An unforgiving people may never offer praise and is quick to criticise. A Judge cannot respond to criticism even when it is inaccurate or unfair. He must speak only through his judgments and rely on his conduct to be its own vindication1. 1 Lord Denning M.R. in R. v. Metropolitan Police Commissioner ex pane Blackburn [1968] 2 All E.R 319 at 320. "All we would ask is that those who criticise us will remember that, from the nature of our office, we cannot reply to their criticisms. We cannot enter into public controversy. We must rely on our conduct itself to be its own vindication. This Pull Court Reference on the retirement of Mr. Justice Tanvir Ahmed Khan provides a rare opportunity to take a relatively benign look at the course of his life and his contribution to the processes of law. Born on 17 January, 1939, at Basti Pathanan in the princely State of Patiala. Mr. Justice Khan received his early education in Sharaqpur Sharif, Sheikhupura. He graduated from the University of Punjab, Lahore and read law at University College Lohdon (UCL). The eminent legal philosopher Jeremy Bentham is credited with being one of the founders of UCL. In 1829 John Austin was appointed as the first Professor of Jurisprudence. It was the first English University to open its doors to all regardless of race, creed or political belief and went a long way in fulfilling Bentham's vision of what a University should be. Justice Khan received his LL.B degree from the University of London' in 1965 and LL.M from the same University in 1967. As the father of the nation, Quaid‑e‑Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a member of the Hon'ble Society of Lincoln's Inn, Pakistanis reading law in London have a sentimental attachment to this Inn. Mr. Justice Tanvir Ahmed Khan, too, I am sure, felt bound by these emotional ties. He read for and was called to the Bar as a member of the Lincoln's inn. While in London, Justice Khan took part in a number of extra curricular activities. He was the Secretary of the Pakistan Society from 1964 to 1968. This organization represented all the colleges affiliated with the, University of London. In 1969 he participated in the World Peace through Law Conference in Holland. In 1970 he was enrolled as an Advocate of the High Court and later as an advocate of this Hon'ble Court. He lectured at the Himayat‑e -Islam Law College from 1969 to 1973 and at the Punjab University Law College from 1973 to 1977. He was appointed as Assistant Advocate -General, Punjab in 1976 and Additional Advocate‑General, Punjab in 1985. While at the Bar he appeared in a number of important Constitutional cases before the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan. On 26 October, 1988 he was elevated as a Judge of the Lahore High Court. After having served the nation for almost twelve years in that capacity. He was appointed a Judge of this Hon'ble Court on 27 September, 2000. As a Judge of the apex Court Justice Khan authored and was a party to a number of important decisions. He never forgot that whether a Constitution or a statute is good depends on how it is construed. His approach to statutory and Constitutional interpretation was purposive. He cautioned against narrow pedantic interpretations of the law which sapped it of its social content. Equally, he felt, that irrespective of the equality of the legal representation of a party before the Court it was the duty of the Judge both to know and to apply the law. Recently in Muhammad Gulshan Khan v. Secretary Establishment Division2, he observed: "It is the bounded duty of the Courts to decide the cases on merits in accordance with law and the rules. The Courts, while dispensing justice, are duty bound to apply the provisions of law in their true perspective and application of the same cannot be avoided simply on the ground that the said provisions of law were not brought to their notice by the parties." In another recent decision in Jameela Pir Bukhsh v. Appellate Authority3 he observed that technicalities delayed decisions: 2. PLD 2003 SC 102 at page 109. 3. 2003 SCMR 1524 at 1529. "Such an approach creates great hurdles in the way of the oppressed to get justice within a reasonable time which naturally results in generating frustrations and despondency against the system. The Courts must not shatter the trust reposed by the general public in them by involving themselves in procedural technicalities. Their prime duty is to administer substantial justice which should not only be done but also seen to have been done at the earliest. The Law is not a vehicle for the amusement of lawyers. Its purpose is to offer solutions for social problems not opportunities for creative manipulation4. Its only legitimate goal is to serve the people, the society and the State. Lord Mansfield was not a 'mere lawyer', said Dr. Johnson, 'he made law serve life.5 This is a philosophy which Justice Khan shared. He was acutely aware of the fact that while applying the law a Judge has to perform a balancing act. Often he is called upon to choose between competing interests6. This is an agonizing task. Justice Khan clearly knew how a Judge ought to act in such cases and succinctly observed in Allah Rakha v. Faisalabad Development Authority that "in a situation of competing interests of an individual with that of the public at large, the latter shall be given preference".7 A Judge must not only interpret carefully and choose wisely. He also has to ensure that justice is not only done but also seen to be done. A Judge must not only be neutral but must also appear to be impartial. 'Conscious of this fundamental norms of natural justice, Justice Khan observed in Government of N.‑W.F.P. v. Dr. Hussain Ahmed Haroon. 8 4. Lord Radcliffe. The Law and Its Compass (1960) p.40: '... if the law is to stand for the future as it has stood for the past as a sustaining pillar of society it must find some point of reference more universal than its own internal logic.' 5. Quoted in Louis L. Jalfie English and American Judges as Lawmakers (Oxford. 1969) p. 1. 6. Patrick Devlin, The Judge (Oxford, 1979) p.17: '.... The function of the judiciary ... arbitrating between citizen and ... holding the balance between the State and the individual...'. 7. 2003 1CMK 1756 at 1766. 8. 2003 SCMR 104 at 110. "It is an age‑old fundamental principle of law that justice should not only be done but manifestly and undoubtedly it should be seen to have been done. To achieve this objective/goal it is of prime importance that a Judge/person equipped with the authority of decision should not be having any sort of personal interest in the outcome of the matter under issue before him. The conduct of the proceedings should not generate any reasonable apprehension in the mind of a person that the deciding officer has harboured any grudge or bias against him." A lack of bias, a purposive approach to statutory construction, impatience with technicalities, an anxiety to avoid delays, a desire to do substantial justice and keeping the public interest foremost has served Justice Khan well. The litigating public has been the beneficiary. It has been long journey from Patiala to Pakistan, from Lahore to London and from Sheikhupura to the Supreme Court. Retirement does not bring it to an end. It merely marks a milestone. As a Judge, however, he parts company with us. All partings are a sad affair. Yet, there is always an element of happiness in bidding farewell to a good man who has fared well. I wish him a healthy, happy, long and rewarding life.