MANSEHRA, Feb 8: Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan said on Friday that ending discrimination in dispensation of justice to rich and poor was essential to avoid bloody revolution in the country.

“The dual justice system for last six decades has exhausted people’s patience and if we failed to dispense people with justice without discrimination between rich and poor nobody could avoid bloody revolution in this country,” said Justice Khan while speaking at the oath-taking ceremony of district bar association here.

The chief justice said that judiciary had been discharging its responsibilities and strengthening democracy through its verdicts. “Politicians should be thankful to lawyers with whose efforts democracy was restored when a dictator (Musharraf) resigned, and now judiciary was keeping the democracy on track through its constitutional role,” he said.

The chief justice said that judiciary had taken a fresh oath not to endorse steps derailing democracy and if needed judges would again render sacrifices for it.

In response to lawyers’ demand, the chief justice said that he had taken up the issue of the change in national judicial policy for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but his request was not entertained. He said that the weakest democracy was better than a good dictatorship.  He said that the Supreme Court alone had recovered more looted money from the plunderers of national wealth through its verdicts than any other department in the country.

He announced to constitute a monitoring committee under the lawyers’ body president, which would oversee acquisition of land and construction of district judicial complex in Mansehra. He said that work on the judicial complex would be started in June this year.

Besides others, district and sessions judge Younus Khan, deputy commissioner Zulfiqar Ali Shah and senior police officer Sher Akbar Khan were also present on the occasion.

Earlier, the chief justice administered oath to president of district bar association Munir Hussain Lughmani, vice-president Shafqat Iqbal, secretary general Tanveer Ahmad and joint secretary Shafeequr Rehman.—Correspondent