PESHAWAR, June 29: Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan on Saturday called for early legislation by the government to establish mobile courts in the province and said he recently requested the relevant authorities for speedy action on two proposed laws in this respect.

He was speaking during the concluding ceremony of a weeklong course on ‘judgment writing’ for 25 judicial officers here.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Judicial Academy had organised the event.

The chief justice said the high court had drafted two proposed laws, Criminal Mobile Courts Act, 2012, and Civil Mobile Courts Act, 2012, before sending them to the provincial law department for legislation. He said if the proposed laws were approved by the provincial assembly and enacted by the government, then 11 mobile courts would be set up in the province.

“Four mobile courts will be set up in the central districts of the province, two each in Hazara and southern districts, and three in Malakand division. This project will be supported by the United Nations Development Programme, which has already spent around Rs15 million in this respect,” he said.

Justice Dost Mohammad said the draft bills suggested that the government in consultation with the high court establish one or more courts in each district or at any such other place or places as it may deem necessary.

He said mobile court would hold sittings at town, union councils, police stations or other places specified by the high court on rotation basis as directed by the district judge.

The chief justice said the high court had sent a summary to the provincial government for setting up exclusive consumer courts in 24 districts of the province, which would help protect rights of consumers and address the people’s grievances in days and even in hours. He said the judiciary in Malakand division had disposed of most pending cases and that there was no reason for delay in dispensation of justice to militants in the region.

Justice Dost Mohammad recalled that in the past, militants had begun their activities with the excuse that the judicial system was flawed and speedy justice was being denied to the people. He expressed sorrow over the killing of foreign mountaineers in Gilgit-Baltistan and said despite passage of many days, killers hadn’t been arrested.

The chief justice said the law-enforcement agencies’ investigation system was outdated and flawed and therefore, they could not trace the killers.

He said in near future, experts from European countries would train judicial officers, investigators and other stakeholders at the judicial academy on criminal justice system, civil justice system and forensic science.

Justice Dost Mohammad expressed concern over the rampant corruption in different government departments and said if the menace was overcome, then there would be no need to get financial assistance from international financial institutions, including International Monetary Fund and World Bank.He said the country had resources in abundance but they were looted.

“Everyone is equal before the law. No matter how influential they are, corrupt people should be taken to task,” he said, adding that even the prime minister, president, ministers and judges should not be spared if they were found guilty of corruption.

The chief justice said ironically, the officials of the institutions set up to eliminate corruption themselves were involved in corruption. He said the corruption rate went up four times after the creation of the anti-corruption establishments and when Federal Investigation Agency was set up, it further increased 10 times.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Judicial Academy director general Hayat Ali Shah said until now, 11 batches of judges had undergone the ‘judgment writing’ training, whereas training of the remaining six batches would be completed by the end of October this year.