Photo courtesy Supreme Court of Pakistan
Addressing the opening ceremony of the judicial year 2022-23, Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on Monday claimed the ruling coalition had taken an ‘unprecedented’ step to refuse approval of judges proposed by him in the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) in retaliation for an adverse judgment against them.
Referring to a July 26 ruling in which the apex court had declared Chaudhry Parvez Elahi the chief minister of Punjab, he claimed the federal government’s annoyance on the ruling had become clear when the JCP met on July 28. “For the first time since JCP was constituted by the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010, the representatives of the federal government in the commission either deferred or chose not to support the candidates proposed by the chairman. As a result, the meeting had to be adjourned,” he said, claiming that four of the six members of the JCP had supported the judges.
Instead of explaining how he had been unable to get his proposed judges approved with the majority, however, he said: “With utmost respect, I ponder, does such a reaction by the federal government to an adverse decision of the court reflect any respect for the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary? I simply leave the matter here.”
He also accused the Supreme Court Bar Association—without naming it—of bias in the same case, saying the apex court and its judges had exercised restraint and remained detached from rhetoric triggered by disappointment over the verdict. “Nevertheless, it did surprise the court that during the hearing of the case the current and several past office-bearers of the Bar approached the bench with a request to constitute a full court on the urging of the leader of the political party that is also the principal member of the coalition in the federal government,” he said, claiming it was done without any legal grounds.
“The request was unexpected because the Bar was pleading a partisan political cause without even being a party to the case,” he said of the SCBA’s call for a full court bench.
Stressing the Supreme Court was committed to defending the Constitution, its commands and directions to the state and to the people, the enforcement of fundamental rights and for the lawful functioning of all the institutions, the CJP said the court would not hesitate to act if the Constitution or constitutional institutions were undermined, violated or attacked.
The CJP also discussed the floods across Pakistan that have impacted over 33 million people and left a third of the country underwater, saying the apex court’s judges had voluntarily contributed an amount equivalent to three days’ salary, while the court staff had donated two days’ salaries to the relief effort. However, he said, the government still faced a formidable task in steering the country toward rehabilitation and recovery and urged all political parties, their leaders, decision-makers and privileged members of society to set aside their differences and act in unity for the public interest.
Justice Bandial also praised the Supreme Court’s functioning, saying judges had decided 14,943 cases from Feb. 2 to Sept. 9, reducing the backlog.
In addition to the CJP, the gathering was also addressed by Additional Attorney General Chaudhry Aamir Rehman, who read out a speech from Attorney General for Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf, as well as Pakistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Hafeezur Rehman Chaudhry and Supreme Court Bar Association President Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon.
In his speech, the AAG called for an “institutional dialogue” to ensure the federation pushed ahead with harmony between the constituent units. It also sought consensus on articles 175A and 177 of the Constitution, stressing a structured criteria for appointment of judges was necessary for the Supreme Court to work at its full strength.