Initially I thought ‘suo motu’ was some substance like ‘ajinomoto’, a food additive that is used in most Chinese and Japanese dishes. Recently, its use has been restricted due to its harmful effect on eyesight. Of course, thinking of suo motu as something like ajinomoto was an exposure of my ignorance. But how can one know everything? I got alarmed when the newspapers reported that a lot of suo motus were being taken. I was concerned that it could be something injurious to health. Then I consulted the dictionary. It said, “Suo motu means ‘on its own motion’ and it is a Latin legal term.”
So these suo motus are meant to straighten society and not just to add spice to the edibles. If my understanding is correct then a suo motu can be taken by anyone. And it can be taken ‘on its own motion’. In reality, it is a privilege to effectively control such happenings that have taken place unnoticed and suo motus are usually taken by the courts or heads of the state or people at such positions whom ‘notice’ would effectively redress a wrong.
But nobody stops you and me from taking suo motu action by its definition. However, whether our suo motu will have any effect in correcting a situation or not is uncertain. In any case there are several suo motus that you and I can take and I must say that these are urgent and ignoring them is almost unforgivable for us.
I would like to take notice of the meat that is being sold at double the control price, and the controlling authority is doing nothing about it. Are the household expenses so expandable and can a family stretch its income to accommodate further costs? When the protein in the meat gets completely out of reach of the lower income groups and the poor, what are they supposed to eat? Vegetables? Check the prices of vegetables. These are already double while the incomes are more or less static. Inflation has increased 15 percent in Pakistan, which is the highest in the world while our income is the lowest in Asia. In my list of suo motus, this would be a priority item.
I would also take a suo motu notice of the allocation of Rs 86 million for Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) from the Punjab budget. JuD is a banned terrorist organisation across the world while the Punjab government gives financial support to it. I would like to investigate it under my suo motu, as the financing seems, on the face of it, a very anti-nation action, fraught with danger to society.
In the same continuity, a suo motu must be taken to ascertain the reasons of the release of a terrorist of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi who had been in jail for several years and given financial aid for several years by the Punjab government. This matter needs investigation in the national interest.
There is a long list of striking ‘wrongs’ that need suo motu actions from the authorities that have the capability of setting a wrong right and they must do it in the interest of the country.
However, I would avoid some suo motus. For instance, I would not take a suo motu against Atiqa Odho. I am told she was returning from Tajikistan with her husband after taking part in a trade delegation. In a gift package, two bottles of liquor were found. Atiqa Odho, a British passport holder, surrendered those bottles to the customs authorities as it was pointed out that the entry of that substance was against the law of the land. If we enter any other country with plants or food, it is usually objected to and the passengers surrender it and no offence is committed. I would think that Atiqa might not have committed an offence either. Therefore, I would avoid a suo motu against her, however pretty and endowed by the Almighty she may be. Also I would consider her standing as a show-business person and her personal seniority as a grandmother. I would resist the temptation of making her appear before me and seeing her for a closer look as a captive beauty. But I have no legal background and my understandings may be of no consequence. In fact, I most sincerely offer my apologies for even having such thoughts and hope to be forgiven.
The Greek symbol of the goddess of justice is a beautiful figure with a blindfold around her eyes and a weighing scale in her hands. Many people feel that the ‘weighing scale’ is not balanced and has some tilt in it. Justice may not ‘appear to be served’ several times. Most noticeable case is the hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Sometimes justice is blind and sometimes half-blind. Whatever the situation is, justice needs to keep the balance. ‘Tawazun’ (balance) is the basis of universal existence as is said in the Holy Quran. But when humans are in charge, it is expected that ‘justice should not only be done, it should also appear to be done’. If a tilt in the balance appears, then justice demands that the tilt be corrected. After all, we are all humans. We can make errors and we can also correct them. Correcting oneself is always graceful and adds to the stature of the person doing so. But it does require extraordinary courage.
The writer is a culture and media management specialist, a researcher, author, director and actor