{"id":903251,"date":"2024-04-03T15:24:41","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T10:24:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/?p=903251"},"modified":"2024-04-03T15:24:41","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T10:24:41","slug":"cjp-hints-at-full-court-for-suo-motu-of-ihc-judges-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/cjp-hints-at-full-court-for-suo-motu-of-ihc-judges-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"CJP Hints at Full Court for Suo Motu of IHC Judges\u2019 Letter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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File photo. Farooq Naeem\u2014AFP<\/p><\/div>\n

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa on Wednesday emphasized that \u201cany attack\u201d on the judiciary\u2019s independence would not be tolerated, while indicating a full court bench may be formed to continue hearing a suo motu case regarding allegations of interference in judicial affairs.<\/p>\n

Heading a seven-member bench of the apex court hearing a case pertaining to allegations forwarded by six judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), who alleged in a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council that spy agencies were \u201cinterfering\u201d in their affairs, he said the hearing would resume on April 29, when could be heard on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

Apart from the CJP, the bench comprises Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Yahya Afridi, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Athar Minallah, Musarrat Hilali and Naeem Akhtar Afghan. The suo motu notice was taken on a letter penned by six IHC judges\u2014Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Saman Rafat Imtiaz\u2014in which they alleged attempts to pressure judicial decisions.<\/p>\n

Initially, the matter was to be probed by an inquiry commission led by Justice (retd.) Tassaduq Jillani, but he recused himself in a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after backlash from the legal fraternity. Subsequently, the apex court announced it was taking suo motu notice of the letter.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s hearing, which was broadcast live on YouTube, PTI founder Imran Khan\u2019s counsel Hamid Khan sought to be made respondent to the case. \u201cGone are the days when it was the chief justice\u2019s will,\u201d remarked the CJP, noting the court had yet to receive Hamid\u2019s petition and the committee would decide on the matter once it was filed.<\/p>\n

The CJP also lamented it was \u201cinappropriate\u201d that petitions were reported in the media before they were even filed. \u201cWhen we talk about pressure being exerted, is this also exerting pressure on us in a way?\u201d he questioned and vowed to never submit to anyone\u2019s pressure. He also criticized lawyers seeking a suo motu notice, observing such lawyers should \u201cleave their practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan then read out the press release issued by the top court after a meeting between the CJP and P.M. Sharif on the IHC judges\u2019 letter. The CJP observed the meeting was an \u201cofficial administrative\u201d one, adding the full court meeting that preceded it served no judicial function.<\/p>\n

The AGP then highlighted inappropriate comments on media and social media about the inquiry commission formed by the federal government. He also regretted that Jillani, too, had recused himself after being criticized for accepting his role on the commission. \u201cIf there is any kind of attack on the judiciary\u2019s independence, I would be at the frontline,\u201d remarked the CJP, adding none of the judges on the bench would ever accept interference. \u201cIf someone has another agenda to do so and so, then they may become the Supreme Court Bar president or the chief justice and enact his will. We will not tolerate pressure of this kind,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The AGP then noted the commission was formed with the CJP\u2019s consent, adding media had misrepresented it by claiming it was made of the federal government\u2019s own accord. \u201cWho can serve in such an environment?\u201d questioned the CJP. \u201cSuch allegations were levelled that we were ashamed to have nominated him,\u201d he said, referring to Jillani\u2019s recusal, adding the former judge stepped aside after the backlash seen on social media.<\/p>\n

Awan then read out Jillani\u2019s recusal letter and recalled that the CJP had suggested either Jillani or Justice (retd.) Nasirul Mulk to head the commission. \u201cThe impression that the SC has given its powers to the government or the commission is completely wrong,\u201d remarked the CJP, noting the Constitution does not permit the apex court to form its own inquiry commission.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery institution should remain within its limits,\u201d the top judge asserted, noting that the Supreme Court might have \u201cgone beyond its limits\u201d in the past, but it would not do so now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe federal government is not ready to compromise on the judiciary independence,\u201d said the AGP. \u201cFrom here, verdicts were given, JITs were formed [and] monitoring judges appointed against the law. What happened between 2017 and 2021 is in front of everyone,\u201d he said and also recalled the \u201cdeath threat\u201d sent to Justice Isa in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalking about this is very important,\u201d argued Awan. \u201cThe history should be kept before everyone. Mrs Sarina Isa went to get an FIR registered but it was not. The then-federal government referred the matter to the FIA. Sarina Isa recorded a statement about Mirza Shahzad Akbar and Lt. Gen. (retd.) Faiz Hameed [but] the federal government at the time took no action,\u201d he recalled, noting two CJPs retired during the period while CJP Isa took up the matter within 24 hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the prime minister\u2019s full support on this matter,\u201d the AGP added.<\/p>\n

\u201cPressure on the judges can also come from fellow judges, their family members, children and friends. These days, there\u2019s a new epidemic of social media and there is pressure from the media as well,\u201d CJP Isa noted.<\/p>\n

Justice Athar Minallah, meanwhile, observed that whatever was happening was \u201cvisible to everyone\u201d and there was no point in pretending there was no interference. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, similarly, remarked the court must put an end to the longstanding practice of interference once and for all and questioned how it could do so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hearings to resume on April 29, with CJP indicating matter could be heard on daily basis to ensure its resolution<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":326,"featured_media":8290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,54],"tags":[25636,43538,2350,2490,1200,1118,46370,43771,496,43732,34128,11408,46369,28355],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/000_Del6187004.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903251"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/326"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903251"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":903253,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903251\/revisions\/903253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}