BASHIR Bhatti, a 70-year-old inmate at Adiala Jail, could have been out four years ago if the Lahore High Court bench which acquitted him on July 30, 2009 had enough time to write down the ruling. The order was never written and while the following day has been hailed as a defining moment in the country’s history, it had grave repercussions for the accused in this instance. On July 31, 2009, the Supreme Court ordered the judiciary purged of those who had taken oath under the Provisional Constitution Order of November 2007. The two judges who had acquitted Mr Bhatti in a murder case, unfortunately, carried the ‘PCO’ stigma and made their exit. Their unfinished business included the drafting of the judgement that would have set Mr Bhatti free. His lawyer says the appeal will now have to be heard afresh, meaning an extension in the uncertain period for the accused.

This is a glaring example of justice denied, even at a time when the drums were beating in celebration of Pakistan’s advance towards an independent judiciary and rule of law. The accused here has been punished for events he had no control over. He was an appellant looking for relief, regardless of the reputation of the judges. He did not have the freedom to choose a bench of his liking. He moved court, as the court then existed. If anything, the much-maligned PCO judges would appear to him to be the providers of justice as opposed to the judiciary revived or born of the July 31 order, which has paid him no attention since. There may be others like him affected by the sudden change in judges, overlooked by the charged reformists under the leadership of then chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. Bashir Bhatti has been in jail for more than a decade, which is a long period for a case to be decided. Meanwhile, the grand title of an independent judiciary will ring hollow if it does not entail efficiency by adjudicators at all tiers. Someone has to take the blame for this serious oversight. More importantly, someone has to look into it and see if there are any more like Bashir Bhatti and ensure justice for them without further delay.