Senior-most Supreme Court judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah has called on members of the judiciary to identify those within their ranks who surrender to power, saying that challenging such elements is the highest form of service to the judicial institution.
In a landmark judgment issued in a service case, Justice Shah emphasized the importance of moral clarity and institutional courage in safeguarding the integrity of the judiciary. “Judges have to fight internal and external encroachments with integrity and courage,” the judgment reads.
The Supreme Court judge underscored that criticism from within the institution should not be mistaken for disloyalty. “It is in fact the root of loyalty to the Constitution,” he wrote, adding that judges must remain steadfast in upholding judicial independence.
According to Justice Shah, the dangers threatening the judiciary and the rule of law cannot be ignored, and it is incumbent upon judges to resist temptations of short-term or illusory gains. “Such gains are temporary and deceptive,” he cautioned.
He asserted that a judge’s real reward lies not in personal benefit, but in maintaining public trust and the dignity of the institution. “History remembers those who remain steadfast in defending principles,” he noted.
Justice Shah’s remarks come amid growing concerns about judicial independence and perceived encroachments on the judiciary’s autonomy. Without naming names, the judgment makes a powerful statement against complacency and silence in the face of institutional erosion.
“The jurisprudential legacy of a judge is not built on complacency,” he wrote, “but on principled deviation.”
Justice Shah maintained that when the spirit of justice is under threat, courts must resist expediency. “Courts should serve as beacons of constitutional morality and guardians of democratic integrity,” he said.
He warned that history would not absolve judges who fail in their constitutional duties. “It will remember them as accomplices of injustice,” the judgment stated.
In his concluding remarks, Justice Shah reiterated that the Supreme Court is more than a forum for dispute resolution — it is the “constitutional conscience of the nation.”
Legal observers have termed the decision a significant reminder of the ethical responsibilities borne by members of the judiciary, particularly at a time when the institution faces increasing scrutiny and political pressures.
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