Daily Times

Sir: On June 27, 2014, a shocking incident took place within the premises of the Lahore High Court as reported in the press. A suspect in the rape case of a minor girl was helped and assisted by his counsel to escape from police custody after rejection of his bail application.

This horrendous incident casts a very gloomy picture of our law and justice system. Also it becomes a challenge for the Pakistan and the Punjab Bar Council how to correct the system by enacting rules and laws so that severe action could be taken against such delinquent lawyers belonging to a profession known throughout the world to be the ‘Defenders of Justice’. It also becomes imperative for the concerned court to take immediate notice of such heinous incidents, to uphold not only the dignity of the court but also of the Bar. Necessary amendments must be made immediately not only in the Legal Practitioners Act but also in the rules made by the Bar Councils and the Penal Code of Pakistan to plug the lacunae that cast aspersions on the court and the Bar.

Even otherwise under the Latin legal maxim, “Ubi Jus Ibi Remedium” (where there is a right, there is a remedy) coming down to us from the days of ancient Rome, if no remedy is available under any act or law, the courts have the power to take appropriate action to stop such incidents from happening. Such incidents are already on the rise and if not checked immediately and dealt with with an iron hand, soon our society will have no law but of the jungle and the courts will become a sight of mockery and laughter. People seeking justice will be forced to cry: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers” — Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2, Act 4, Sc. 2.1.

ZAHID HUSSAIN BORHANI

Karachi