To a large extent it is the state of independence of the judiciary which, one can say, determines the state of governance in a country and its image in the civilised world. How some of our illustrious judges in the past fought their battles to keep the courts free of governmental pressures and influences needs to be revisited. Here are some instances.



1. When Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah came to Karachi to take oath as governor-general of Pakistan, Mr Justice Tayebjee, a judge of the then Chief Court of Sindh, was selected as a member of the reception committee to receive him at the airport. Though it was a great honour but he was reluctant to be part of the official delegation for the reason that it was inappropriate for a judge to receive the would-be head of the state.



However, he was persuaded to join the committee on an understanding that in future his name would not be given for such a purpose. (Much later, another judge of Sindh High Court Tufail Ali Abdul Rehman did receive the then prime minister, Z. A. Bhutto, at the airport. This act of him was challenged by a senior advocate in the high court by initiating contempt proceedings.)



2. It is pertinent to mention here that Mr Justice Abdul Rashid, the first Chief Justice of Pakistan, who had administered oath to Quaid-i-Azam had refused to attend a tea reception hosted by Pakistan’s first prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, in honour of Shah of Iran.



Justice Shabbir Ahmed passed strictures against another prime minister, Malik Feroz Khan Noon, in a serious matter, recording a finding of some wrongdoing on his part and observing that he should resign from the post of the prime minister at once, arguing a country is known by the PM it has. The prime minister had to appeal to the Supreme Court to get these strictures set aside. Mr. A. K. Brohi, conducted this case.



Justice Shabbir Ahmed, in another case, did not hesitate to convict one Lt.-Col. Yousuf, the Commissioner of Quetta in the famous Gazderi case, although he knew well that this gentleman was on very good terms with Gen Ayub Khan and that the judgment could deprive him of elevation to the post of Chief Justice of West Pakistan, which in fact did happen. So, instead of him, Mr Manzoor Qadir got that position. It was first attack on judiciary.



3. After imposition of martial law in 1958, the independence of the judiciary was among the first targets of a virulent assault by the regime. For some time army officers were seen entering court rooms of the subordinate judiciary to stop the proceedings and ask the presiding judges to give them progress reports about cases before them. Mr Justice Kiyani at once took notice of this, brought the matter to the attention of the Chief Martial Law Administrator, and more importantly sent directions to the lower courts to initiate contempt proceedings if there was any unnecessary interference in their work by army officers.



Justice Kiyani also took other actions to assert the independence of the judiciary, much to the annoyance of the military. Things came to such a pass that the CMLA wrote frankly to the ministry of law that he wanted to arrest Justice Kiyani. To avert such a happening, one joint secretary in the ministry namely, Abdul Rasool Qazi (father of Justice Mamoon Qazi, former Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court and later a judge of the Supreme Court) was bold enough to give his opinion to the CMLA. He said that while the military government sought to give an impression to the world that the martial law had been imposed for the sake of public welfare, such an action would definitely create a bad image in the eyes of world. So, it was better for the CMLA to settle the matter, if any, over a cup of tea. Ayub Khan realised the blunder he was about to commit and took no further steps in the matter.



4. Late Jam Sadik Ali and DC, Sanghar were unhappy with some judicial orders passed by a senior sessions judge, Mr. Ovais. Instead of taking legal course, they chose to get him arrested. Soon after this action, his wife died of heart failure. Surprisingly enough, no one took any serious notice of these happenings. However, Mr Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, former Chief Justice of Pakistan, who was the sessions judge, Hyderabad, at that time opted to visit Sanghar to know the situation. But only one hour after getting permission from Chief Justice Tufail Ali Abdul Rehman, his visit was cancelled.



5. Finally, it is pertinent to mention here that Mr Z. A. Bhutto extended the tenure of Mr Justice Yakoob Ali for five years through Sixth Amendment in the constitution. But Gen Ziaul Haq repealed it with the result that Mr Justice Anwarul Haq became the Chief Justice who later awarded death penalty to Mr Bhutto. [Courtesy Dawn]

Regards.