FAISALABAD, Aug 21: Open courts have failed to meet their fundamental objective of providing timely assistance to the needy, overlooking the fact that justice delayed is justice denied.

As the concept of dispensing justice to the distressed at the grassroots has picked up steam thanks to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s penchant for mixing with the masses, these open courts are not as accessible as they promise to be and have so far provided ‘selective justice’.

Such allegations abound, with many visitors to these open courts claiming that those at the helm seem more interested in paying lip-service than helping them in solution to their problems.

“Come forward and get your token” is what the police and district administration officials keep on repeating at open courts, which many people see nothing more than a formality. A token is given to a complainant after he or she pleads the case at the open court so that they can keep in contact with officials regarding redress of their grievances. But visits to open courts reveal that the practice is going on only to please the chief minister as a token means “endless wait for a complainant to have his/her issue resolved.”

The chief minister has directed all district coordination officers as well as senior police officers to hold open courts in their respective areas to make justice accessible to the all and sundry.

The district administration has, so far, organised three open courts at city, Tandlianwala and Jaranwala, but a majority of the complainants have been found bickering about the hassle.

It is learnt that even some officers are not pleased with the idea of conducting open courts on Sundays, which deprive many employees of a weekly holiday.

DCO Azam Suleman and DIG Muhammad Aslam Tareen are the ones conducting open courts on the chief minister’s directive. At an open court at Jaranwala, Muhammad Ali, a youngster, complained that his visit to the place had not yielded any result. He said he had brought a property dispute to the open court in the hope of getting favourable treatment, but the officers had asked him to appear at their office. “This is what I have been doing for long.”

Visitors coming off from far-off localities complained about scarcity of water, a lack of sitting arrangement and other basic facilities. They said the people had to wait for hours and hours for their turn to register complaints.

Most of the complaints at these courts are against the police, revenue and health officials. In many cases, visitors alleged, the officers ask those very officials against whom complaints are registered, to probe the matter.

“What use an open court if the people have to visit the government offices again,” wonders Sughra Bibi, who made it to the Jaranwala open court to seek registration of a case against the killer of her daughter. She said her son-in-law had throttled her daughter four years ago, but no case had been instituted against the perpetrator. “Having reached here, the officers have informed me that the case will be registered only after an exhaustive inquiry into the matter,” she said.

An applicant, Nawaz by name, said he approached the officers at the open court after finding no way for restoration of water supply in his locality, but to no avail.

“We are still without water even two weeks after bringing the issue into the notice of the officers,” he said.

A district government officer told Dawn that open courts were basically a ‘confidence-building measure’ instead of extending immediate justice.

“How is it possible that justice is provided to a person without conducting an inquiry,” he said, adding: “People are learning to present their problems through open courts instead of being exploited by unscrupulous elements.”