Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar has shown his determination
to continue taking suo motu no
tices on matters of public interest.
“I will keep taking suo motu no
tices on education, clean drinking water or health issues,” he remarked during the hearin
g of a case pertaining to pensions. He observed that no work is done unless he takes notice of it. He recalled that he had recently helped a student receive Rs 10 million owed by a private university.
The chief justice remarked that those who wanted to criticise suo motu no
tices can continue to do so but “I will keep taking no
tices in public interest.”
As many as 185 cases related to human rights and 58 cases on which suo motu no
tices had been taken were pending before the apex court till January 31, 2018.
The CJP has taken suo motu no
tices of multiple cases during the last couple of months. The brutal rape and murder of a minor girl in Kasur shook the nation, forcing the CJP to take notice of the incident, leading to swift progress in the case.
He took suo motu notice of the extrajudicial killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud in an ‘encounter’ in Karachi by former SSP Rao Anwar. The top judge also took no
tices of the killing of Asma Rani in Kohat and four-year-old Aasma in Mardan.
Published in Daily Times, April 14th 2018.