“T he virtue of justice consists of moderation as regulated by wisdom.” (Aristotle) One must acknowledge the reality that those who are connected with imparting justice are highly respectable human beings. They not only serve humanity by setting the wrongs but also take upon their shoulders the heavy responsibility of making sure that no innocent gets punished and no criminal goes scot-free. Together, as a team of judges, advocates, court assistants and, of course, parties in a scuffle, efforts are made to establish true facts of a given situation in the light of evidence and witnesses, in view of which a judgement is made. These decisions may not be too overbearing in benign cases but sentencing someone to death is certainly quite an arduous verdict, which could be tantamount to manslaughter if given for an innocent. Obviously, when there is a miscarriage of justice, many factors are involved, including the due process of law, starting with lodging an initial complaint with the police, the way First Information Report (FIR) is written, the way a crime scene is secured and examined, the way evidence is gathered and preserved and the way the accused and witnesses are handled. These are the grounds on which subsequent proceedings move forward and whatever is placed before the judge becomes the basis for a decision. This clearly points to an important matter that while a judge may be solely liable for convicting a person, those assisting cannot be absolved from this responsibility. Similarly, those who were onlookers when a particular crime was being committed should also be taken to task. A relevant example would be that of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), which has been abandoned over the last two decades and could not be revived because of encroachments. To restore this vital public transport system, the present honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan ordered the Sindh government and Railways to demolish these “illegal” settlements, including multi-storied buildings, with an immediate effect much to the dismay of the occupants, who had probably paid heavy amounts of money for allotment. It may be recalled that the KCR operations have remained suspended since 1999. Therefore, occupants were comfortably established and continued to hold their assets without any fear. On February 7, 2020, the Supreme Court confronted Secretary Railways regarding non-compliance of its order of May 9, 2019, to demolish encroachments. He informed that right of way had been granted and the railway land was handed over to Sindh government following a decision by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council in 2018, thereby, shifting own responsibility on the shoulders of the provincial government. Continuing with similar infringements on state lands, parks and railway properties, the court not only expressed its disgust but issued stern orders to comply with earlier commands. Till today, the infamous Karachi May 2007 and 2014 Model Town, Lahore incidents have not seen finality These are commendable acts meant to restore the beauty and practicality of a city, which was once considered as the jewel of the country. The essential question here is that are only the encroachers to be blamed for violating the law? Where were all the regulators, the railway police, the many provincial departments or even the regular police when such illegal constructions were in progress? Were these buildings and houses constructed overnight by invisible hands, which were beyond the control of authorities? What about the thousands who would be displaced? Have they been given any alternate option? The biggest problem arises when law-enforcers connive with unscrupulous elements for short-term advantages; shamelessly ignoring rules to permit them to do what they please. They are not apprehended along with other culprits. The same holds true where a criminal convict like Mazhar Hussain who was sentenced to death is exonerated of murder after enduring nineteen years of imprisonment during the pendency of the appeal in the Supreme Court. Although the accused, having died in custody, did not get to relish his acquittal, the Court never once called in question those who implicated him in an offence he never committed and the ones who had assisted (rather misled) the original sessions court that handed the death sentence to Mazhar Hussain in 2004. The apex court indicated flagrant discrepancies in the entire case of the prosecution yet no one involved at that time was called to account for the wrong that was done to the deceased innocent. Convicting and exonerating one party is justice, indeed, but it remains partial. True justice would be when the persons directly or indirectly playing a critical role in cases like encroachments, thefts, murders, gratifications, malafide decisions by public office holders and all types of civil and criminal offences are held accountable too. A person selling fake medicines is punished but the drug inspector is not questioned. An importer’s consignment is confiscated after he gets it released from the Customs at a low duty but no court ever tries to nab that appraiser who cleared his goods after getting his palms greased. A tax evader is rightfully punished, but no tribunal or court ever holds the incompetent officer responsible for putting a law-abiding taxpayer through years of various tiers of appeals, financial losses, social embarrassment and mental tensions before being eventually cleared. Till today, the infamous Karachi May 2007 and 2014 Model Town, Lahore incidents have not seen finality despite available visual evidence of open high-handedness of political activists in the former and police officials in the latter case. Not a single politician from Karachi was called suo moto to account for the hooliganism by his party’s youths nor was the sitting chief minister of Punjab held responsible for the police department working directly under his control. If occurrences in broad daylight cannot be handled by our justice system then it is no wonder that crimes committed in the dark would be totally mishandled. Proper justice is not just clerically clearing or convicting citizens of the state but creating an atmosphere of real deterrence that can help to stop the innocent from being unduly implicated and the criminal to conveniently go unpunished. Where the apex court on its own motion can take cognisance of high fees of private schools, why can’t it summon the government to discharge its obligation of providing a good standard of education in public schools? It is about time that Aristotle’s words are adopted meaningfully to provide the right type of cover for the judicial process, as also expressed by Winston Churchill. During the war, his country was facing the worst challenge. On inquiring, he was told that the judges were dispensing justice as normal responded by saying: “Thank God. If the courts are working, nothing can go wrong.” The writer is a lawyer, author and an Adjunct Faculty at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)