IF the news of a suspect in the rape case of a minor girl being helped to escape from police custody within the premises of the Lahore High Court is true, then it paints a very gloomy picture of our law and justice system.

Also it becomes a challenge for the Pakistan and Punjab Bar Councils to correct the system by enacting rules and laws against such delinquent lawyers.

It also becomes imperative for the concerned court to take immediate notice of such heinous incidents, and to uphold the dignity of the bench and bar. Amendments should be made immediately not only in the Legal Practitioners Act but also in the rules made by the bar councils and the penal code of Pakistan.

Under the Latin legal maxim, “Ubi Jus Ibi Remedium” (where there is a right, there is a remedy) even if no remedy is available under any act or law, the courts do have the power to take appropriate action to stem such incidents.

Such incidents by malevolent legal officers are on the increase, and if not checked with an iron hand, the day is not far when our society will have no law but of the jungle, and the courts will become an object of mockery. People seeking justice will be forced to cry: “The first thing we do ...” Well, I cannot write the full quote. Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2 act 4 sc. 2.1. (86)

Zahid Hussain Borhani
Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2014