PESHAWAR: Glowing tribute was paid to the late Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, former chief justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), at a full court reference here on Saturday with the speakers terming him a fearless judge who strived for upholding the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution.

Justice Seth died on Nov 12 this year while he was still in office.

Besides Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan, sitting and former judges of the PHC, lawyers, family members and friends of Justice Seth and government officials attended the reference.

His services for protecting and promoting the cause of law and justice were recognised and highly appreciated by the speakers.

Speakers at reference say the judge strived for upholding rule of law

The participants, through a resolution, conveyed condolences to the bereaved family on his sudden death. A copy of the resolution was presented by Chief Justice Khan and senior puisne judge Justice Roohul Amin Khan to the daughter of Justice Seth.

Chief Justice Khan, while sharing with the audience a brief account of personal virtues and professional excellence of the deceased, said: “His unqualified and unwavering commitment to the Constitution and unflinching reverence for the rule of law, human rights and civil liberties earned him singular respect not only from the legal community, but also the masses at large.

“His judgements are there to carve out a distinguishable niche for him in the annals of our judicial history. He is destined to outlive the contours of his mortal life,” the chief justice said.

“He heard and decided some of the most difficult cases of our judicial history and his verdicts abound in the richness of constitutional understanding, legal interpretation and exposition. He had a deep concern for human rights and liberties.”

Applauding the contribution of Justice Seth to the administration of justice, Supreme Court Bar Association President Abdul Latif Afridi said that he displayed unfaltering fealty to the Constitution and rule of law, strict adherence to the principles of fairness and justice and regard for human rights.

Referring to his compassionate and humanistic demeanour, empathy, humility, courage and uprightness as striking dimensions of his personality, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Advocate General Shumail Ahmad Butt said: “Seth Sahab was an intelligent and courteous person. He understood the law and the court’s role as its keeper. He also had a healthy dose of common sense and never lost sight of fairness and justice.”

After recounting important milestones in the life of Justice Seth, PHC Bar Association President Khalid Anwar Afridi praised his stint as a judge and said: “The (late) chief justice’s fluency in writing could perhaps be matched, but his judicial courage was second to none. There is none perhaps who can come forth and say that the late chief justice, in the exercise of his judicial powers, was ever influenced by any factor other than the arguments addressed and the evidence laid before him in court.”

The reference concluded with Fateha for the departed soul.

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2020