Let’s take note of the infamous case of one condemned-but-vindicated soul of Mr. Mazhar, whose name surfaced in the public conscience last year, i-e, two years after his demise, to haunt the ones who feel and dream, dream and implement, implement and yield the seeds for the fruits of law, rule, and justice in this country of the pure. Mr. Mazhar was convicted to death by the court of Ssessions and conviction was maintained by the appealed to the high court, considering and, unblinkingly, finding him guilty of an offensce under section 302. The convicted appealed to the Supreme Court, challenging the orders of the lower fora. Supreme Courts’ decisionded, it passed its verdict, it announced the commandment of justice, the convict was exonerated and , he was declared innocent. But no soul found it appeasing, no celebrations no orwelcomes no gestures of thanksgiving were to be seen, because the tiring chronicles of the time and unrelenting years of pain had let death eat away all of those attached with Mazhar , even Mazhar himself. It was later revealed that Mazhar left for the eternal journey after suffering 19 years of imprisonment.
When a debate emanates regarding any system, singled out instances become immaterial, they can happen, such exceptions and space for exceptions areis always there, but such singled out instances like the one of Mmazhar, can be used to study and analyze the dogma which caused such a happening. Some may argue that Mazhar was a victim of personal failures of any of the concerned officer, official, office, etc. But the facts of the case suggest that Mazhar’s ordeal continued for a span of almost two decades, how come a personal failure cause a suffering to continue for 2 decades? No person, no office- bearer gets a run of two decades at a single position. Why changing personas did not change the circumstances of Mmazhar? Can we blame it on the Hon’ble members of the judiciary? No, we can’t.
We already know, and we must know that the Hon’ble members of our judiciary are the most over worked people of our society. They work more than their designated time, they try their heart’s best, they are continuously giving their optimal input, but why such personal excellence on their part, is causing no improvement in the cause of justice in this country? It iss neither personal failure nor its institutional failure, but instead it’s a failure of the system. T, he same caused the incident of Mmazhar to happen, the same is causing the creation of this quagmire regarding the delivery of Justice.
127 our experts are availableright now
Limiting the debate to the question of the system of criminal justice in Pakistan, let’s start with major components that regulate, monitor, implement, and effectuate the concepts & principles of criminal jJustice. Leaving legislature and policy makers aside, active constituents include Criminal Courts, Police and enabling Laws, which are further sub-divided into substantive codes and procedural cCodes. The Scheme of this system creates such a subtle web of inter- dependent relationship between the police( Pprosecution) , Courts and Procedural Rules that default in any of the one in any given circumstance causes defeat to the whole junta’s collective effort. On the face of it, the whole scheme is efficient and most effective, with definitive roles, with rigid restrictions and controls upon, even the minutest of the powers, it appears to be an incorruptible scheme, but ironically, the problem with this scheme doesn’t lie with its academic aspect, but its failure lies in its social, aAnthropological and cCollective pPsychological aAspect.
As a matter of known fact, Pakistan boasts of a population of more than 200 million of which, as per rough estimate, more than 70 % is rural population and this chunk is even greater if we consider the indirect attachment of urban populace with their rural roots. A country which is pitiful in its educational endeavors, with a literacy rate at the lowest ebb amongst the global community, and with such majority of the rural class, cannot survive and progress in its cause of justice when the governing circle of laws and courts is inherently and practically urban in nature. The Procedural code and the resultant criminal Courts are a product of urban class, aimed at urban class, and based on urban considerations. Furthering this argument, we must go through this reality check that considerations that govern anany individual’s life always vary with the geography, sociology, and socio- economy.
The considerations for a person of rural orientation can never be similar to the considerations of an urbanized person. And neither considerations of alien nature can deter, impress, interpose, or suppress any person from any act, howsoever good or bad the act may be. The rural Psychology revolves around endeavors of social approvals, avoidance of social reprimands or stigma, dependence upon peers and adherence to an environment- specific social code. The criminal procedural code and the criminal courts, by their scheme, have eliminated the society’s participation in the proceedings for justice, and when we have excluded the participation of society’s building blocks, the fear of social stigma out-casting has evaded from all the desirous/compelled/ led into criminals. The police and courts have, due to the failure to deliver results, have suffered in repute to the extent that every order, every action on their part carries with it a question over credibility in the public eye.
Punishments or Reprieve’s, by the courts, are not satisfactory enough for the public at large, in making them devolve and reach opinions. This aspect has, gradually and continuously, relieved the wrong-doers from the fear of social stigma, which practically is the most effective agent in crime control. Illustrations can be drawn, compare the rate of crime in FATA ( Federally Adminitered Tribal Areas ) with the rest of the country. FATA stands proud with its minimal crime rate, private or public crime is almost negligible in FATA. When we all know that FATA lags behind in education, economy, and facilities, then why it leads toin crime control? It’s just because the prevailing criminal justice system over there involves public participation, the whole scheme of punishment and trial revolves within, and in consonance with the cCollective Psychology of the inhabitants.
Anthropologically and sociologically speaking, ours criminal justice system is, unfortunately, more dependent on external and extraneous factors, which in their individual capacity , are not even remotely connected with the crime occurrence, the criminal, or the wronged. For example, every criminal trial’s outcome is directly favorable to the competence or face value to the lawyer pleading the case. May it isbe that a more competent lawyer represents a delinquent side; still the probability of justice tilting in favor of the delinquent will remain high. Further denominators like the judge’s individual capacity and his built up, the prosecutors and their priorities, police and its corruption, litigants and their socio- economic positions, are all those factors which always, in our country, have and continue to affect the tilt of justice.
The irony of a poor man in engaging a reputed lawyer, who by his repute enhances the chances of securing justice were once sarcastically scribed by Mr. Justice Maule (1844) in the following words:
“.. Altogether these proceedings would cost you about Pounds 1000. You will probably tell me that you have not a thousand farthings of your own in the world. But that makes no difference. Sitting here as an English Judge, it is my duty to tell you that this is not a country where there isin one law for the rich and another for the poor. You will be imprisoned for one day.”
In a society of un-evens and un-equals, like ours and a society having multiple fault lines of caste, sect, and likings, disliking, such a system which is influenced by socio-economic factors of few, can never succeed in building up a utopia of a justice- driven nation.
The Current criminal justice system of Pakistan has failed miserably to deliver, both in qualitative and quantitative terms. Trials take years to complete, a wait of a decade is needed to see the execution of punishments, such long delays, first eat away the financial resources of the justice seekers and by virtue of the long wait burry away the demand and healing aspect of justice.
Misery intensified is, what is the best to define ours justice system. Convictions are a rarity, acquittals are pre-dominant. SAnd still, the crime rate is ever- increasing like a snow-ball effect. This system has failed to impart deterrence, it has failed to provide justice, it has failed to establish a civilized society. A major overhaul is needed; we must adopt a system thatwhich is not alien to our social system, a system thatwhich takes the society in the loop in the process of delivering justice. Before nations surfaced, before constitutions were scribed, the society made rules for itself, the society governed itself on its own, and the society took care of the cause of justice for itself on its own. We don’t demand much from the lawmakers, we demand inclusion of the elements of the society in the process of justice, as it were they who preserved the social structure till now, and it is for them who are the torch bearers of the social strata.
