THE system of checks and balances in a functioning democracy can suffer grievous harm when any of its components is seen as being the recipient of undue favours. That is even more so in the case of the judiciary, whose credibility and respect rests upon its perceived independence. On Wednesday, the Islamabad High Court passed an important order in this context when it declared that the policy of allotting more than one plot to judges of the superior judiciary and top bureaucrats was illegal. Justice Kayani in his order, however, referred the matter to the government to develop a policy in this regard “in clear non-discriminatory manner so that confidence of citizens of Pakistan is restored upon the entire system of governance”. The court was hearing the petitions of an NGO challenging government decisions of 2006 and 2008 of allotting additional plots to bureaucrats and judges of the superior judiciary. It said that “the policy … is with mala fide intentions and under extraneous consideration to give loss to public exchequer”.

It is well known that land worth billions of rupees is parcelled out to influential members of society every year. Many however point to the injustice of such a system in which individuals who have well-remunerated jobs with many perks and privileges, or have retired from such positions, feel entitled to such largesse in a poor nation like Pakistan. In October 2020, Justice Qazi Faez Isa had made some insightful observations on this issue when he was part of a Supreme Court bench adjudicating on a matter concerning a housing project in Islamabad. Although the verdict declared that the land had been legally acquired, which was the point in question, Justice Isa in an additional note said: “The Constitution and the law … do not entitle chief justices and judges of the superior courts to plots of land. … The aphorism that, justice must not only be done but be seen to be done, is undermined if people perceive that cases are not decided without fear or favour. The executive giving plots to judges constitutes a favour.” Further, he pointed out that during 2020-2021, the amount to be spent on pensions would come to Rs470bn, including Rs111bn for retired civilians and Rs359bn for retired armed forces personnel. “To serve the nation is a singular honour. When in addition to receiving pensions, public lands are taken, it is eminently unfair.” It is a sound argument.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2021