Dispensation of justice in time is the key to a society’s progress and harmony, and a state’s viability. Its absence or degradation can have horrible consequences, as it can not only jeopardise the integrity of the country but also seriously disillusion and distance the citizens from the state. It was not without reason when during WWII the Axis began to bomb London causing extensive destruction, Winston Churchill reportedly asked his aide: “Are the courts dispensing justice?” Clearly, he understood that judges could not engage the Axis bombers but the quality of justice they delivered could rally the British to fight for their country. This indicates the significance of true and timely delivery of justice, as also the place and role of a truly enlightened leadership. Tainted justice is no justice, it is an atrocity. It does not help anyone, instead, it leads to petitioner fatigue, the irrelevance of judicial system and shrinkage of state’s writ. Thus, the environment becomes ripe for people to take law into their own hands. There could be many ways of doing that. In Pakistan, this role has been gradually shifting to sectarian vigilante groups, powerful local clan chiefs, various shades of mafias in the cities, and finally, to the most unlikely arbiters: the dreaded Taliban wherever they are in command. There is a well known story of a respected Vice Chancellor of a renowned university who had a longstanding land dispute in a tehsil of the district of Peshawar. In desperation, he approached a local Taliban commander to intercede. It took them just one sitting of a few hours and the matter was resolved. This is what happens when our cumbersome and lumbering justice system fails to deliver. It will invariably be replaced de facto if not de juro by brutes like the Taliban, and cocky tribal jirgas (private courts), which consign vulnerable Mukhtaran Mais to collective public disgrace, order unprotected Malala Yousafzais to be shot or simply bury erring man and woman alive in the name of contorted honour. Distortion or absence of justice seriously affects the lives of people and can have a lasting impact. Judges and the entire judicial system have a great responsibility in this regard. If they begin to lobby to promote themselves and play for the gallery, the country is doomed. It appears that in our case, an otherwise composed community could not properly absorb the heady tonic of popular support that restored them to the higher courts after General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf’s failed coup against the superior judiciary. That should have burdened them with the demands of a conduct extraordinary. But they apparently misread the public outburst as a sign of personal popularity, whereas it was basically to express defiance against Musharraf’s unilateral dismissal of judges and his hubris of power. The upshot has been an unusually vocal, generally predisposed and sermonising judges. That places their judgments, whether on matters political, constitutional or others, under a certain shade, a fact that most regretfully tends to dilute if not defeat the very ends of justice. Dusty and disused corridors of our chaotic courts are teeming with dispossessed and disillusioned men and women petitioners stumbling over endless dates and innumerable legal roadblocks. Lower courts (kutcheries) are a particularly pathetic sight, where men, women and children rub shoulders with hardened criminals, murderers, greedy court staff and disinterested policemen. It is an utterly undesirable environment, lacking dignity, moral content and a quintessential distinction between a witness, an accused and a convict. All three are lumped together and treated alike, which destroys remaining self-respect, belief in proper conduct and trust in the sagacity of the courts by those who are already wronged. More miserable is the sorrier state of affairs at the family courts where neither there is privacy of deposition nor much regard for the bruised sentiments of the separated spouses, particularly women and fatherless children. An ambiance of stony coldness, hostility and mindless pursuit of blind provisions of a generally insensate Family Law is rampant. Young children who have just lost the affection and shelter of their fathers are simply terrified and get psychologically battered. The system is a mythical blind Cyclops, who has very conveniently opted to ignore the fact that those appearing before the family courts are neither criminals nor convicts. They are delicate souls in need of sympathy, understanding and compassion. They mainly seek courts’ kind intervention to an honourable and concerned resolution of custody and maintenance issues. One careless or insensitive nudge by the judge can throw a splintered family into endless litigation and bitterness for a very long time. A working nexus between the bench and the bar is understandable, but there are lawyers who are cheeky and judges who are presumptuous, and all that directly at the cost of the exasperated petitioners. Possession of the law book does not entitle the keeper to self-importance. It requires him to judge with compassion, fairness and dignity. If it was only a question of slapping the law on the offender, the Court Reader could do it best. A judge has to separate wheat from the chaff, show vision and pass an intelligent verdict, a verdict that is not only a deterrent but persuasive and sensible too. Unfortunately, our judicial system is stressed under the weight of pendency. The mighty structure of justice is beginning to rust both horizontally and vertically, and crumbling inwards. As and when it collapses finally, it will create a proverbial black hole into which the rest of the state will be sucked in and disappear in vapours. Worrisomely, there appears to be a fairly wide network that seems to have wrapped around our remarkably designed judicial system. It looks like a multipurpose switchboard for favour, patronage and insider information. One had known about favourite police and civil officers by the side of our political bosses but hardly ever a judicial officer. Meanwhile, a huge crowd of deprived and dejected faceless men and women groping for legal remedy is gathering on the wide and regal marble steps of the lofty court. They are crying hoarse but there is no legible sound. They are losing hope of getting their due from the traditionally stolid system. However, all is not lost yet. There are bright beacons of honourable conduct and sensibility still in service here and there. What is needed is to take an immediate stock of the situation and refocus on the primary task in hand. A department of the state that affects us so profoundly has remained shrouded in layers of mystery and awe for the right reasons. However, under this grand judicial blanket cockroaches tend to creep in, which make it difficult for the dedicated few to perform from either the floor or the dais. To begin with, the system may consider setting up quality control cells or ombudsmen in the courts, which should be tasked to evaluate judgments passed, and undertake disciplinary and remedial measures where required. There should be refresher courses for judicial officers both in country and abroad, if not already in practice. A sustained effort to preserve the judicial system from the poison of privilege, caprice and conceit would be just in order. The writer is a retired brigadier of the Pakistan army and can be reached at clay.potter@hotmail.com