Punjab lawyers unhappy with lacunae in biometric system
• Legal fraternity says ‘facilitative measure’ has turned into ‘gatekeeping mechanism’ • Notes technical glitches make access to justice needlessly complicated LAHORE: The enforcement of mandatory biometric verification for litigants filing cases has triggered widespread concern across Punjab’s legal community, with lawyers describing the requirement as an unreasonable obstacle to access to justice. Notified in January and in force since March of this year, the move was envisioned as a facilitative, technical measure. According to a statement attributed to LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, the system would “help curb fake litigation, prevent impersonation and eliminate the use of bogus witnesses and sureties”. It was described as a significant step towards modernising the judiciary and safeguarding the integrity of judicial proceedings, which would enhance the credibility of the judiciary and provide a secure and efficient mechanism for conducting proceedings. But after a few months of seeing it in action, lawyers argue that the measure has effectively become a gatekeeping mechanism, disproportionately affecting poor and vulnerable litigants’ ability to access justice. Some see the initiative as evolving into a revenue-generation exercise rather than meaningful judicial reform, as the process has imposed an additional financial burden through a “pay-to-access” model, where the officially prescribed fee of Rs200 often rises to Rs300 in practice. According to members of the legal fraternity Dawn spoke to, serious infrastructure deficiencies and recurring technical glitches are disrupting the timely filing of urgent matters. The Lahore Bar Association (LBA) has already issued an ultimatum to the Lahore High Court (LHC), urging it to rationalise the biometric verification requirement. Representatives of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) and the LBA complain that the LHC introduced the new regime without consulting them. They told ...
Original source: Dawn Pakistan