Mr. Manzoor Qadir's Love for Accuracy a Guide for Young Legal Practitioners

MR MR. MANZOOR QADIR'S LOVE FOR ACCURACY A GUIDE FOR YOUNG LEGAL PRACTITIONERS By Taki Ahmed Khan M.A., Barrister-at-law Lahore 1. Everyone knows that Mr. Manzoor Qadir was kind and humane. This he certainly was, but rarely it appears that he had lost his patience. These were always the occasions when someone deliberately ignored the obvious facts or falsified for ulterior motives. His passion for truth would urge him to expose the lie before its author. 2. In the dark day of November, 1971 a gentleman returned from Dacca. Mr. Manzoor Qadir was very worried in those days about the situation in the then East Pakistan. I remember that he would sometimes interrupt legal work and desperately remarked:-- "It is tomfoolery to engage in legal hair splitting when the country is passing through such catastrophic period." Anxiously Mr. Manzoor Qadir asked about the life in Dacca. The gentleman replied rather optimistically. "The situation appears completely under control. I travelled at night time from airport to Dacca City and saw that only one Razakar guarded the whole track of road." Mr. Manzoor Qadir did not believe him and coldly replied "but can you say that the lone Razakar was not ambushed after you had passed him." 3. It was Mr. Manzoor Qadir's way to summon his client when he was in the last stage of the preparation of the case. In one murder case of Kot Lakhpat the client narrated the story which police had put in his mouth:- "You are not speaking the truth" Mr. Manzoor Qadir warned "How could you watch your brother behind butchered and do nothing. The client admitted that he was not present at the dine of occurrence. 4. When someone was misconceived or had innocently followed wrong reasons, Mr, Manzoor Qadir would politely point out the mistake or expose fallacy in reasoning. He was clear in his ideas, his love for analysis refused to yield to humbug. Like Socrates, he would listen all theories based on ignorance and superstition but slowly by his lucid and penetrating reasoning threw back the lie on its exponents. 5. On one occasion a junior said that minors are incompetent to depose in England in criminal trials instead of asserting contrary. Mr.Manzoor Qadir summoned Halsbury's Laws of England. The junior glanced in the book and was ashamed to see that the English law put no bar to the minors' testimony in the Court except of course that they understood what they stated. 6. Mr. Manzoor Qadir was always keen to correct himself. It was his habit, nay it had become part of his nature to check again and again. M. Saleem the great criminal lawyer was with Mr. Manzoor Qadir one afternoon. I had recently returned from England and was attending Mr.Manzoor Qadir's office. He left M. Saleem and asked me what was the minimum number of Law Lords to constitute a house of Lords? I replied that minimum number required by law was three. Mr. Manzoor Qadir remarked that he had never come across the judgment of the House of Lords in which Law Lords less than 5 had sat. He was satisfied only when he had consulted Halsbury. 7. Sornetimes his curiosity and love for knowledge produced mirth. In one police file a recovery memo contained the Dhoti with Andi on it. "What is Andi?" asked Mr. Manzoor Qadir. None of us knew exactly what the policeman meant by Andi. At this moment Mr. Manzoor Qadir asked his Senior Clerk to ring Sufi Tabassum to learn what was Andi. We were able to guage the policeman's meanings next day. Andi is made by cutting the Dhoti in the middle and sewing the other two ends. Mr.Manzoor Qadir was relieved and said that though it was not important from the law point of view yet a Judge may like to know what was Andi. 8. Mr. Manzoor Qadir like his prototype Socrates started the arguments in the way that he did not know and wanted to be enlightened, at one time he told me. "Our judges too often presume that they are wiser than every body" thus they stop accepting others' views. The teachers too arrogantly claim to be the most learned. You should be at your guard against this human infirmity. Welcome the others' point of view and if it is correct accept it." 9. TO encourage me he said I learnt the meaning of force majeure when I was in the 13 years of legal practice. 10. Mr. Manzoor Qadir's love for knowledge was unbounded. He could talk about literature, Law, history, mathematics and science. At one occasion when conversation turned to mathematics I said that Zero was discovered by Arabs and they introduced it to Europe. Mr. Manzoor Qadir did not agree. Ile produced a Book on Mathematics, which said that Zero was of Indian origin. One day he wanted to know the origin of "Dakianoos". I submitted that word has reference to story of Ashaab-e-Kahf and "Dakianoos" (Diocletian) was Roman ruler of the period when Ashaab-e-Kahf left their city to escape prosecution. Mr. Manzoor Qadir stretched out his hand and opened a volume of Farhang-e-Asifia and got my explanation confirmed from that dictionary book.