Supreme Court holds full court reference on retirement of Justice Malik

ISLAMABAD: A Full Court Reference was held here on Friday in the Supreme Court on the eve of retirement of Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik, Judge of the Supreme Court.

The reference was attended by all the judges of the Supreme Court, Attorney General for Pakistan, President Supreme Court Bar Association and large number of lawyers. Addressing the Full Court Reference, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed while paying rich tributes said that tireless contributions of Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik to the cause of justice and especially to the criminal jurisprudence has forged the path for generations of legal practitioners to come to be inspired by and motivated.

The Chief Justice said that his main area of practice was criminal law and has conducted many notable cases and law journals stand testimony to the fact that he has been an outstanding lawyer practicing in the criminal law.

The Chief Justice said that Justice Malik was elevated to the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 6th November, 2015 adding that Justice Malik soon excelled as judge of this court and delivered large number of judgments involving intricate questions of criminal jurisprudence that bear truth to his exceeding delivery which was hallmark of his professional capability and in-depth knowledge, understanding of criminal jurisprudence and criminal justice system.

The CJP said that his historic verdict was regarding mentally ill prisoners on death row, while heading a three member bench of this court in the case of Ms Safia Bano v. Home Department, Government of Punjab (Civil Review Petition No.420 of 2016). “This verdict will go down in the history of Pakistan as a brave judgment in which Justice Malik has highlighted mental health issues of the convicts, which have not been previously addressed so elaborately in the jurisprudence of Pakistan,” the CJP said.

As a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the CJP said that Justice Malik was nominated as Monitoring Judge-ATC Courts Punjab; Head of Monitoring Cell to monitor progress and proceeding of cases under the NAB Ordinance; Monitoring Judge-NAB Courts in Pakistan; Chairman Federal Review Board; and Member of a Committee to monitor the progress on Expeditious Justice Initiative.

“Justice Malik as a judge, as a person and as a colleague will be remembered with reverence and fond memories to be shared and cherished by his colleagues," the CJP concluded.

Meanwhile, addressing on the occasion, Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik stressed the need for bringing drastic changes in the criminal justice system. “Before signing off and laying down the robes, I earnestly feel that the criminal justice system needs drastic changes to assuage the sufferings and miseries of the convicts who at times serve major part of their sentence awaiting disposal of their appeals,” Justice Malik said. He said that there should be some mechanism for the prompt decisions of the cases. Justice Malik said that both, as a lawyer and a judge he concentrated on criminal cases.

Generally, it is perceived to be an easy task but in actuality it is quite tedious, as besides intelligence, it also requires a good measure of practical experience and street wisdom,” Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik said. “It is, as they say, like finding a needle of truth in the haystack of falsehood," Justice Malik said adding that this task becomes more poignant while hearing jail appeals of the convicts who have no resources to engage competent but expensive lawyers.

He said in the dispensation of justice, he received full and able assistance from the bar adding that the bar is sine qua non in the scheme of justice, and the role of advocates cannot be deleted or diluted. “I feel that both the bar and the bench must have a meaningful dialogue, and each side should honestly and fairly share its views with other, and then find a viable solution to emerging challenges”, Justice Malik said.

Throughout his career, Justice Malik said he was fortunate enough to have guidance from my accomplished colleagues who had peopled the institution and excelled in their fields. I benefited from their wisdom and experience, and by learning from them, I was able to consolidate and augment my legal expertise. My humble and profound gratitude for all of them," Justice Malik said. He also commended and appreciated the services of his court staff for their untiring work beyond the call of duty.