LAHORE: Justice Mirza Viqas Rauf of the Lahore High Court advised a petitioner Muskan Zahra to approach ex-officio justice of peace for remedy and held that the constitutional jurisdiction of the high court should not be exercised at the whims of the parties.
Justice Viqas noted that now a day a trend has developed to bypass the alternate remedies and instead to approach the high court in constitutional jurisdiction. He observed that the high court shall not exercise its writ jurisdiction in the cases where the petitioner has access to an equally efficacious and adequate alternative remedy under the law.
The petitioner has approached the court against his parent and police officials harassing her and her husband for contracting the marriage against the will of her parents.
The court dismissed the petition in liming and advised the petitioner to approach ex-officio justice of peace as alternate remedy, which is neither illusory nor ineffective, the court added. The court observed that nobody can be allowed to bypass or circumvent the natural course of law by avoiding to avail remedy provided there under and to invoke constitutional jurisdiction of this court. The court ruled that it is an extraordinary jurisdiction which is only to be exercised in rare and exceptional cases but not as per convenience of the parties.
This on the one hand absolves the relevant forum from performing its functions and duties and on the other, unnecessarily burdened the docket of the high court and deprives the litigants, who have their genuine causes to lay before the high court, the court added.
The court also observed that the Police Order, 2002, regulates the police and the police officials have been made answerable with regard to performance of their official duties. In case of any negligence or omission, they not only have to face disciplinary proceedings but also to be confronted with conviction in the shape of imprisonment and fine as well, the court added.
The court observed that grievance of the petitioner, as agitated in the instant petition, can easily be remedied through a petition before the ex-officio justice of peace or even she can approach against the respondent police officials, the concerned authorities under the Police Order, 2002. Even otherwise in presence of alternate remedy, a person desirous to invoke the constitutional jurisdiction of high court is obliged to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the court that such remedy is only illusory and not adequate at all, the court concluded.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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