October 5, 2003	Sunday	Sha’aban 8, 1424

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PESHAWAR, Oct 4: Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan has said that the induction of a large number of women judges into the subordinate judiciary has proved that there exists no gender discrimination in the judicial system of the province.

Addressing the concluding session of a two-day workshop for 35 newly recruited civil judges, including 13 women judges, here on Saturday   Justice Shakirullah said: “ We, the NWFP judiciary, are pioneers in giving considerable representation to women in the judiciary, which suggests that we are neither orthodox nor conservative.”

The induction must dispel the paradoxical impression of gender discrimination about our province in general and the judiciary in particular, he said.

Referring to Justice Khalida Rachied, who is presently serving as a judge of International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Justice Shakirullah said: “Our province and especially the judiciary, was the first in having a woman civil judge, a woman district and sessions judge, a woman elevated as judge of the high court and the first in having a woman judge of an international criminal tribunal.”

“Peace and harmony in a society is directly related to the provision of justice,” he added.

He urged the participants to take extraordinary care during various stages of civil and criminal litigations and stated that during a civil dispute the judicial officer should carefully frame issues for which proper appreciation of evidence on record was necessary.

In criminal cases, he said, the charge against an accused should be framed with utmost care and the stereotype framing of charges as practised in the past should be avoided.

He said: “ The judges shall avoid judicial custody of an accused especially in cases not put to trial for a longer period and they should see weather reasonable grounds existed for the delay.”

He directed the judicial officers that the “retiring room” culture should not prevail as it would badly effect their integrity.

 “It is the prime responsibility of a judicial officer to decide a case without any fear or favour,” he added.

During the workshop, four officers of the high court delivered lectures  on subjects of practical importance.