Who would listen the poor by the way?

(Anwar Baig, Islamabad)

More than 90% people of Pakistan welcomed the recent statement of the Chief Justice, Lahore High Court, Mr. justice Mansoor Ali Shah to make the thing okay in the district judiciary to ensure the common people access to justice as the equal gender with equal right and respect in the society. He was talking to the media people on the issues of delaying the access to justice to the deprived and the poor in the society.

The Chief Justice promised the people of Punjab to do the needful to ensure the access to all people of the society to have their say in the court of law and be heard. But the real state of affairs of the judiciary needs more attention and proper involvement of the Chief Justice and his team to go through the facts finding responsible to delaying and denying the process of justice and giving an overall impression that the judiciary has no concern with the agonies and suffering of the people.

The reason behind the delaying tactics are such as:
More than 90% administrative corruption one can find easily in the district judiciary. Unless it is not removed all acclamations by the Chief Justice would go vain and the people would be denied their right to have access to justice as the equal gender with equal right and respect in the society. It is not easy to say just for ensuring access to justice to each unless the institutional reforms are done and monitored with rigorous accountability procedures for the corrupt which we find least unfortunately.

Secondly, the judges are not doing the justice but they are doing the Nokri where as in fact the judges are lawfully bound to ensure access to justice to each whatever the circumstances are there to denying or delaying the justice to poor and the needy. This is actually the task that the judges have to realize for which they are recruited and honoured there.

But as per routine practices the judges never go through the facts and just rely on the FIR or the supporting CM or the witness and more over the lingering on tactics of the advocates by dating each week disregarding the agonies and the suffering of the petitioner. It is very easy for the sitting judge to give the date without considering the number of dates that cost one to bear to come to attend the court.

This sort of mall practicing could only be removed if the courts are monitored and evaluated on their performance, not deciding the number of cases but delivering and ensuring the justice to the deprived. Let me quote here the saying of the Chief Justice that if the lower or the district courts would deliver justice to the deprived none would come to the higher courts. This is the task that has to be done by the district courts which is yet in the waiting list for the last 70 years.

Thirdly, but most important the reformation and restructuring the role of the police that has the sole power to make or break the facts of any case and never answerable.

Let me quote here a British young, Tahir MIrza of 18 who was sentenced to death and ordered for hanging thrice. He had remarks of a judge that he did not know that what and how the police could do with his case and the same happened with Mirza. The game was turned down against Mirza just because of Rs.300000 he had to pay to the SHO.

The young boy did not know the role of the Pakistani police so he refused to pay the said amount and met the death sentence. Mirza appealed to the higher courts including the Supreme Court but was not considered for the review because our judiciary had take it guaranteed that the FIR is equal to a (Hadis) a holy document which the judiciary cannot deny or review it for finding the truth. If Mirza had been hanged the judiciary did not mind it that one innocent had been killed wrongly. I am sorry to say that the reason behind was the Nokri not the justice. Let me clarify my opinion here with apology that these two statuses have two different roles, one for the Nokri with all the benefits, protocols and lavishly living among the poor and second for the delivery of justice at any cost whatever the circumstances are there. Let me quote here an existing example of a decision at the district court where the judges were pressurized not only by the bar but also by the higher judges to please the government and its touts. The judge did not bother for the recommendations or the pressure and gave decision in favour of the poor who deserved for it. The decision was so comprehensive and rezoning that the respondent could not avail any benefit in appeal in the high court.

But at the same time here is another case that is pending in the high court for the second years and the respondent have not bother for replying the honorable court even summoned more than ten times to appear or reply.

Let me not doubt the dignity or the honesty of the concerned judge but the sake of Nokri is on the way that is giving relaxed to the respondent.
Unfortunately we did not accept the role of the justice delivered to the people how it changes the overall character of the people or the communities and the nation at large they love their judiciary not for their doing but for their justice to the poor.

But now let us turn to the statements of different judges on different times about the provision of justice, justice delayed mean to justice denied, and more than 50% cases registered against the poor are fake, the young women and the boys are used for the sex industry in the jails run and managed by the police and more over the existing excuse of the Chief Justice on record that the people are denied to have access to justice, the mafia people have captured the state and the poor are helpless and more over the quite silence (apologetic) of the judiciary on the looting of trillions, money laundering of billions and looting the poor of billions per day in the consumer market.

Unfortunately, the judiciary of Pakistan has supposed that such illegal and illicit activities are not in their domain or the jurisdiction to make it right or summon the government on such unconstitutional activities with reference to protecting the rights of the people.

Let me quote here another example of bombing the poor and deprived by just increasing the power tariff for the domestic sector rising now up to Rs.18 per unit.

Dramatically, the raised power tariff has been increased up to 300 times with effect to the existing prices of the 2014. In 2014’s budget the government did a tricky game with the bloody poor who are just to vote and go to sleep that it demolished the basic two slabs of the tariff and replaced the very 1st and the 2nd slabs into 3rd and the 4th, since, Sept, 2014.

Moreover, in a recent bid to pay the IPPs the government did a tricky game by paying its fine worth Rs.32 billion to the IPPs , it paid to the IPPs and Rs. 22 billion which had to be received by the IPPs as the fine were written off without prior permission and the legal procedures. It could be a big relief to the domestic sector but the priority was the IPPs?

But the game has not ended yet to stop the looting the poor and the deprived. The government has introduced another power tariff for the coming financial years to bomb the poor by raising the basic tariff from Rs.8.11 to Rs.14 with a difference of Rs.5.89 per unit with a condition to using up to 200 to 300 units.

However, according to the recent statistics available on the power tariff the domestic consumers using up to 200 to 300 units will have to pay Rs14 per unit instead of Rs.8.11 with a difference of Rs.5.89 per unit. Thus by doing so, the domestic sector will have to go for the increased payment of 57% without taxes. However, it is not confirmed that what would be the rates of the domestic users for the peak hours as disclosed up to Rs. 18.

For the consumers, 300 to 700 units, Rs.3.67 per unit has been increased. They have to pay now Rs. 16 per unit instead of Rs.13 with an increase of Rs. 2.8% per unit. Whereas the consumers using more than 700 will pay Rs. 2.93 more per unit. Consumers using more than 700 will go for an increase of Rs.2.93 per unit. Moreover, the domestic consumers having peak hours will pay more, Rs.4 per in the peak hours that will stand at Rs.18 per unit instead of Rs.12. Unfortunately, this holy budget has not spared the agrarian sector too by rising its tariff Rs.3.58 per unit.

Pakistan is perhaps the only country in the world where there is a law that if you buy one unit of power, it costs Rs.5 and 2 for Rs.8 and 3 for Rs.12 and 4 for Rs.16 and 5 for Rs.18 just for the domestic utility not for the commercial.

The question is that how one will the tariff that one unit was produced at the rate of Rs.2 and sold at Rs.5 and the second unit was produced at the rate of Rs.5 and sold at the rate of Rs.8.11 and the third was produced at the rate of Rs.8.11 and sold at the rate of Rs.12.30 and the 4th was produced at the rate of Rs.12.30 and sold at the rate of Rs.16 and so on for the other units for the domestic sector.

It is interesting to note here that all these units were produced with the same fuel, at the same time and at the same place but with such a different costs. It is such a dirty business, 100 percent illegal, unconstitutional and 100 percent controversial to the basic rights of the people confessed in the constitution that managed by the government to looting the deprived and the suffering people who are deprived of their 100 percent basic rights since the day 1947 and not heard anywhere even in the judiciary.

Anwar Baig
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