There is a need of close monitoring on the part of High Courts to closely monitor whether the code of ethics meant for Judges in the lower echelon of judiciary like the civil and session judges is being implemented in letter and spirit. For instance, they are supposed not to attend private lunches, dinners or any type of receptions hosted by the elite of the area they work in. A noble example in this connection had been set up by the first CJP
Mr Justice Abdul Rashid of the Apex court.
The supreme court was then located in Lahore. It so happened that the then PM of the country Mr Liaqat Ali Khan was on a visit to Lahore and a dinner had been arranged in the Governor House. The secretary of the PM asked the secretary of the CJP that the PM invites the CJP to attend that dinner who after bringing it to the notice of CJP replied back to the secretary of the PM that the CJP regrets and won’t be coming to the dinner as a number of cases are pending decision in his court in which the federal government was a party therefore in his view his attendance in the said dinner might result in raising fingers over his neutrality and impartiality in some quarters. Such was the precaution observed by judges at that time .
Old jurists say a judge should not be a speaking judge. He should speak only through his written verdict and avoid wranglings with prosecution and defence counsels during the proceedings of cases in the court room as inadvertently some words might come out of his mouth from which those present in the court rooms might draw conclusion about which way the wind was blowing and whose side he was on.
Judges like Justice Cornelius, Kiyani, Samdani, Dorab Patel to mention a few had been men of impeccable financial integrity, highly qualified in their profession and bold to boot also who had set up high noble tradition of conduct. The young civil and session judges are lucky to have role models like them to emulate in their service.
POST SCRIPT
Eyes of common man of the country are fixed on the outcome of legal proceedings in the notorious Kohistan corruption scandal case being tried in a accountability court in the country. If the persons involved in it got scot free in that case financial corruption would never end in this country. Those found guilty in it need to be handed over to the firing squad as is done in China.
