Address to The District And Sessions Judges

ADDRESS TO THE DISTRICT AND SESSIONS JUDGES <!--[if gte mso 10]> ADDRESS TO THE DISTRICT AND SESSIONS JUDGES 31ST OCTOBER, 2009 By Mr. Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Chief Justice, Peshawar High Court Hon'able Gilani Sahib, Hon'ble Members of the Inspection Team and Additional Registrar and Hon'ble District and Sessions Judges! It is really a signal and singular honour for me to address the hon'ble Judges. We had been interacting with each other from time to time but the interaction we are having today may have different import and different implications. We are at the moment in a state of crisis and you know full well in crisis or in a state of .crisis something much more is expected from every body and it is said in English it is the worst which calls forth the best in you. Now there is no doubt about it that situation we are facing at the moment is worse and what it is demanding from you and froth all of us is the best from us. Yes we are having very serious problems and these problems are to be dealt with on emergent basis. Corruption is one of the problems. You know it is rampant in every department of life. It is to be curbed. It is a cancer but it is not that cancer which is incapable of being cured. It is still in a stage where it can be cured. It can be treated provided we make whole hearted efforts. I generally say that if state of corruption is a thesis, it must have its anti thesis. You all must have read dialecticism; a school of thought in philosophy. Hegel was its chief exponent. He said that firstly an idea comes into force which is known as thesis. Then a force opposite to that arises which is known as anti thesis. Then through the evolutionary process yet another stage comes which incorporates the good of the preceding two stages and that is known as synthesis. Then again synthesis is a thesis for the next trial. If corruption, chaos and confusion in this society is a thesis, it is bound to have its anti thesis. But this anti thesis will not descend from the heavens. We are to make efforts to bring about anti thesis. We are to hasten that dialectical process whereby this anti thesis can be brought about sooner than it is expected. I would say that we are in a situation where every body is expected to contribute something well beyond his means. It is not the time where we should contribute according to our humble efforts; no! gone are the days. Humble efforts won't do, whose hearted efforts would do, militant efforts would do; so we must morally, militantly and whole heartedly devote ourselves to the achievement of those objectives which are expected of us by the society by and large. You have seen in two and a half years in our sweat, in our toil and in our blood, we have achieved many things. We have brought judiciary at 'a track where it can deliver goods, where it can positively contribute to the betterment of this country. If we could not respond to the needs of the time, rest assured we would be doomed and dumped into the debris of history. Then you would very soon see that there is no justification for the existence of this great nation and for the survival of this country whose origin owes to many sacrifices of their forefathers. Countries' progress and prosper because of institutions. Institutions progress and prosper because of the integrity, insight and acumen of those, who man them. Democracy is as good as democrats want it to be Parliament is as sovereign as its Members want it to be. Judiciary is as independent as its Judges want it to be. All the Institutions are built up in human sweat, toil and blood. They owe their origin and whole existence to human will. It is not the will of those, who yield to influence, wilt under pressure, succumb to temptation and dance to the drumbeats of their impulses. They never renounce reasons and right thinking. They remain steadfast even in adverse circumstances. Where do such individuals come from? They do not descend from the heaven. They grow from amongst us perform their role and at the end of the day leave a dazzling track of glory behind them. They discover, they come to know, life is not a name of satisfaction of animals needs. It is something much more than that. The more one transcends the needs of animals life, the greater he becomes in stature. 2. The crises we face today is solely because we are concerned with the satisfaction of our animals needs. Let there be a shift in paradigm. Let us realize that if because of our attitude, outlook and inaction, we are in trouble, Nye can be free from that. If we change our attitude and outlook and stand to do what we are required to do, we can reach our desired destination. The principle in this context is to serve the Institutions by raising yourself above your personal, parochial and political considerations. In case we could not overcome the crises we face today, it would deepen and multiply. The situation would be more critical, chaotic and even catastrophic for us and posterity. 3. Suspicion of foul play lurks in every nook and corner. Lack of transparency is talk of the town. Seeing the floor dirty, every one throws dirt thereon. We are to make it clean to such an extent that every one must think ten times before throwing even a straw on that. 4. Have you ever thought, how can we come on the track? How can we move in a right direction and how can we avoid our fall into the deep resounding hallows of the hell. Questions are many, problems are many, odds are many but the answer, the solution, the way to overcome the odds is one i.e. to act justly under all circumstances and in every sphere of our being. Once we do it, we can find our way straight to the heaven and none can stop the advent of the day, when we can emerge as great a people as we emerged almost 15 centuries before. These principles have not been taken along by those who are no more in this world, those principles are still intact in the form of the Holy Book and Sunna of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.). Here I would quote sterling words of a sterling Leader like Winston Churchill "who when asked by lord Simon about the potential of the British Army to defend the U.K. against the external aggression, put a counter question by saying whether the Courts in England decide the cases before them in accordance with law and justice. When answer was in the affirmative, he remarked that no power under the sun can defeat the U.K. So we have many problems but 90% of our problems can be resolved can be solved, if we stick to the principles of law and justice. Once we learn to stick to the principles of law and justice, I am sure and sanguine that this society can be brought on the track. The other day I was telling Gillani Sahib, that a bail application may be Something very simple. Yes you have discretionary powers. It can be granted and it can be refused. But an unjustified grant of bail sometime creates such problems which are unimaginable which are unthinkable. Because whenever a person is deprived of his due; that deprivation gives rise to frustration. And that frustration gives rise to transgression and that transgression gives rise to chaos in the society. Now when you address to the problems of the people and when you decide the matters in a manner that everybody gets his due, that feeling of deprivation is eliminated. Once it is eliminated, society as a whole is taken towards harmony, peace and tranquility. But where it is otherwise then many problems are created, many insolvable problems are created then they assume such enormous and alarming proportion that even a genius with extraordinary capacity cannot overcome those problems. So let us concentrate on .the point that whosoever comes to the court of law he must go with the feeling that justice has been done to him. We need not see who is on the left and who is on the right and I often quote famous words of Hazrat Umar (R.A.), he said strongest possible is weakest possible for me so long as I don't retrieve from him what he has snatched from others and the weakest possible is the strongest possible for me so long as I don't restore to him what is his due. So now at this stage we are supposed to work with that spirit, with that determination, with that devotion and with that dedication and this was the sole purpose of troubling you for a day or so. We are having many problems, there is no doubt about that I know that you may not be handsomely paid as compare to many other provinces. We would be attending to those problems we want that disparity must be brought to an end but I would quote Allama Iqbal... We are suppose to act in the spirit or Qalandari rather than Tawangari and these are the words and this is my message and I am sure that we are to start afresh with that spirit, with that dedication and with that determination; and, if we do that I am convinced that not in months and not in years, we would achieve our objective in days and weeks. Thank you very much!