Supreme Court is free in making decisions & no one dares to stop us: CJP Gulzar Ahmed
LAHORE, Nov 20 (SABAH): Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed on Saturday vehemently denied that the judiciary was being influenced by or taking dictation from other institutions as he maintained that the courts in the country were free to conduct their business. He said that the Supreme Court is free in making decisions and no one dares to stop us, adding that till today he has not listened advice of any institution and also not taken pressure. He said no interference is being done matters of judiciary. He said that it should be informed on whom dictation which decision has been made, adding that this is not and misunderstandings should not be created among the masses. Chief justice said that we will continue to support law, constitution and democracy and will continue to preach this and will implement this, adding that no undemocratic setup will be accepted, we will quit ad we did in the past.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed was responding to comments made by former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Ali Ahmad Kurd, earlier during the Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore.
CJP Gulzar Ahmed said he “absolutely did not agree” with the assessment made by the senior lawyer. He rubbished the allegation that “our courts are not free” and that “we are working under someone’s pressure or of the institutions.” “At least I do not recall any such instance,” he said.
“I have not taken pressure of any institution or listened to any institution. No one tells me or guides me on how to write my verdict. I have never made any decision that I did so on someone else’s saying, nor has anyone had the courage to say anything to me.”
CJP Gulzar Ahmed reiterated that no one interfered with his work and that he ruled on his cases according to “my understanding and conscience”, adding that “I have never listened, seen, understood or felt anyone’s dictation to me,” he added.
“My court gives justice to the people. Come to the court Ali Ahmad Kurd and see what is happening. Read the court’s decision and see what is happening. My judges write judgments every day […] see how our court is working with freedom and following the law and implementing the Constitution.”
Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed said it was wrong to give “such generalised statements without quoting any [specific] instance”, adding that even if a mistake is made, “it is [eventually] corrected.”
Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed said the courts were free to decide whatever they wanted to do and did so routinely. “Tell me which case was decided on whose dictation till today,” he said as he advised Kurd to “not tell wrong things to people, create discord and lift the people’s trust from the institutions.”
Chief justice said that the courts had been working according to the law and that Supreme Court judges had been striving to serve justice to the people.
“When decisions are handed down, some people say they are right and some say they are wrong. These are the people’s opinions and they have the right to hold them. Everyone has their own opinion and perspective, and it must be respected.”
“This is the beauty of the judiciary and democracy and we will follow it,” he said. “Nobody can dare stop us.”
However, differences of opinion do not allow any party to accuse the courts of being under pressure, the country’s top judge underlined.
“Our court is free to take decisions and it does what it wants freely. Our court hears each party to a case and holds them accountable,” he added.
“Tell us which decision was taken on someone’s dictation — it simply isn’t so, so stop creating these misgivings among the people,” he warned.
“Do not misguide the people, do not spread chaos, do not shake people’s trust in the [state’s] institutions,” he continued in his sharp rebuke.
“There is rule of law in Pakistan, not some individual’s. We will continue to work the way we have been.
“We will support and promote the Constitution, law and democracy in the country and we will not accept any undemocratic setup. We will quit [if forced to do so] and we have done this before. “That should be enough for today, thank you very much,” he concluded.
Earlier, Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti said that judiciary is the guardian of citizens’ rights.
Speaking in Asma Jahangir conference, the LHC CJ said that judiciary has significant role in the society. The Constitution gives importance to the fundamental rights of the people, he added. The LHC CJ said that citizens’ rights are basis of democratic society.
Meanwhile, Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah acknowledged some of Kurd’s criticism during his speech prior to CJP’s.
Justice Minallah expressed his gratitude towards Kurd because “it is very important for us to know what the bar and what the people think about us.”
“Let me assure Mr Ali Ahmad Kurd that no judge who is independent can ever make an excuse that he can be pressurised or influenced. Any such excuse … I’m afraid … is a violation of the oath,” he said.
The IHC chief justice said judgements in cases such as the Mohtarma Nusrat Bhutto case and the Zafar Ali Shah case were part of history and could not be erased. “These judgements were responsible for the making and enabling of those that have been referred to by Mr Ali Ahmad Kurd,” Justice Minallah noted.
Justice Minallah said the judicial organ could not afford to “bury its head in the sand and ignore its mistakes”. Third senior most judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faez Isa, President Supreme Court Bar Association Chaudhry Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon Advocate, former president SCBA Ali Ahmed Kurd, ambassadors of different countries, senior journalist and anchorperson Hamid Mir, Matiullah Jan, Syed Talah Hussain, Absar Alam Haider, Nasim Zuhra and others also addressed the conference. Former chief justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, senior most judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial, SC Judge Ijazul Ahsan, SC Judge Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, LHC Justice Shahram Sarwar Chaudhry and other judges also attended the conference. Former presidents of the SCBA Muhammad Yasin Azad and Senator Barrister Ali Zafar also attended the Conference. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Chaudhry Azam Nazir Tarar performs responsibilities of compare in first session of the conference.