Beacon of Hope

In the last two decade, the SHC has issued a number of landmark verdicts

SUKKUR: The Sindh High Court (SHC) – the highest legal forum in the province – has in the past two decades issued a number of verdicts that have been resented by the powerful but hailed by common people and the civil society due to their far reaching positive implications for the province.

One of these verdicts was about banning trails under centuries’ old jirga system.

A single-judge bench of the SHC, comprising Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery, on April 25, 2004 banned all trials conducted under the jirga system throughout Sindh, noting that those found violating the order would be charged under the contempt of court law, irrespective of their status or influence.

The court had issued the order while hearing a petition filed by Ehsan Chachar and Shazia Mangi, who were declared karo-kari—adulterers, worthy of be killed– by a jirga after they married each other against the wishes of their respective families.

Prior to the verdict, tribal jirgas were rampant across rural Sindh. These informal courts would hold trials and often allow murderers and rapists to go scot free by paying some compensation to aggrieved families or by giving a daughter or sister to them in marriage.

In his 48-page verdict, Justice Jaffery had noted that under the West Pakistan Criminal Law (amendment) Act 1963, such trials were permissible, but the law had now been repealed and the jirga system was now unlawful and illegal, and against the provisions of the Constitution and law of the land.

The court had observed that the police were duty bound to take appropriate action to prevent the holding of Jirga within their jurisdictions.

Another landmark verdict of the SHC which ruffled many feathers was with regard to dog bite cases.

On March 19, 2021, a single-judge bench of the SHC Sukkur Registry suspended memberships of two of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) provincial lawmakers, Faryal Talpur—a sister of PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari—and Malik Asad Sikandar over dog bite incidents reported in their respective constituencies.

The verdict said dog bite cases were increasing rapidly day by day, which showed that all the MPAs had failed to provide facilities to the poor people of their constituencies, “especially, in aforesaid pointed out Taluka and district”.

“In such a situation, the membership of MPAs elected from Ratodero and Jamshoro is hereby suspended,” read the order authored by Justice Aftab Ahmed Gorar.

The court had ordered all lawmakers to supervise the drive against dog bite cases, and ensure that in future no dog bite case happens. “If any case of dog bite is reported, the MPA from that constituency shall be held responsible and their membership may be suspended,” the order said.

The verdict had not gone down well with the PPP leadership which has been ruling over the Sindh province for the last 15 years. During a court proceeding, Justice Gorar had later revealed that he had been threatened with death.

“If anyone wants to blow my car away with a rocket launcher, he can give it a try. I, however, cannot be intimidated by such threats,” the judge had reportedly observed.

In July 2019, the SHC Hyderabad Registry ordered the relevant authorities in Sindh to change the names of buildings, roads, parks, educational, and health facilities that are named after influential people, feudal lords and political personalities.

Referring to the Sindh Local Government Act 2013, the court had noted that in most cases it requires a lifelong contribution by a person to get the honor of having a public property, building, road, hospitals and educational institution named after him.

“If a political figure has enjoyed an unblemished record, [he] may qualify (demanding judicial discretion) to earn such honor but how his family members could qualify for such honor is hard to understand…

“Here, one, in authority, must insist upon an unblemished record and service for the nation even while considering a political figure for such purpose.

“It is, however, needless to add that the manner, in which the naming/renaming has separately been dealt with under a chapter itself coupled with specific guidelines, itself shows as to who can qualify for naming/remaining’s honour for local or national projects / buildings etc.”

The bench had asked the secretary of local governments to ensure that all municipal corporations, municipal committees, district councils and town committees in the entire province comply with the order.

“Needless to clarify that compliance shall mean removal of all such names which do not, squarely, fall within specified categories. Renaming thereof shall be made strictly following the guidelines.

“Further, Secretaries Education, Schools, Colleges, Boards are hereby directed to ensure that a list of all institutes, buildings as well offices is prepared which are named or renamed in or after a personality.

“After examining whether such naming/renaming falls within the defined guidelines or otherwise, the secretaries shall ensure removal of all those naming/renaming which are found to have not qualified within four corners of defined guidelines,” it said.

The bench had ordered the authorities to complete the exercise within two months.

The authorities, however, failed to implement the order and a SHC division bench comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhawar—who had also authored the 2019 order— and Justice Abdul Mobeen Lakho last week issued orders to rename the Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jilani Institute Medical Sciences in Gambat.

The bench noted that the SHC had already issued guidelines for naming institutions.

If the family of the Pir of Ranipur wants to get an institution named after their father Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jilani then it should allocate 500 acres of land for building a university or hospital, said the bench

The court ordered the authorities to remove plaques and signboards from all institutions which are named after politicians and influential people by February 7 and submit a report.

Supreme Court Bar Association former vice president Ghulam Shabbir Shar welcomed the SHC decision. He said a government institution should be named after a person who has served that institution a lot.

“Dr Abdul Rahim has contributed a lot in establishing the Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jilani Institute Medical Sciences in Gambat and the institution should now be named after him, “he said.

He said the tradition of naming institutions and places after the powerful must end.

“Government institutions should be named after the places where they are being established. If not, then they should be named after personalities from the Islamic history,” he said.