ISLAMABAD: The registrar of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has been asked to initiate an inquiry on alleged bribery taken by the court staff transferred from other high courts to the IHC.
Sources privy to the development shared that on the directions of Justice Babar Sattar, his secretary on Thursday wrote a letter to the IHC Registrar. The copy of the letter has also been sent to the secretary to IHC chief justice as well as the secretaries of all the IHC judges.
The sources said that the letter suggested an inquiry of the matter, saying that an inquiry should be conducted and action should be taken against the involved staff and the evil should be eradicated.
They said video monitoring of the courtrooms and corridors of the IHC building and the Registrar’s Office can extract the footage of the last two weeks and see that the staff is demanding money. It added that if the reports of such demands prove to be true, strict action should be taken against the involved staff.
The letter said that it has been brought to the attention of the judge that the court staff is chasing people who visit the court to seek relief, and demand money from them.
It pointed that a destructive practice has started in the IHC. It stated that the permanent employees of the High Court are receiving salaries and perks for their services and it is misconduct for a High Court employee to demand money from a petitioner or lawyer seeking relief.
The letter said that all courts, including High Courts, are created to serve the citizens (dispense justice) and therefore, the courts and their staff should fulfill their responsibilities in the best possible manner.
It said that receiving money from a lawyer or petitioner by court employees falls under the category of bribery. It maintained that there is no scope for this culture in a court that provides justice to the citizens. It said that this is a worrying situation that there have been reports of demanding money from the staff transferred from other high courts.
The letter said that if this practice is not stopped by taking action at this stage, the culture of the IHC will be deteriorated.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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