After Justice Isa’s ruling angered the chairman of the leaks commission, the panel’s meeting was postponed, but AGP was grilled about his inability to adequately inform the Supreme Court.
In light of the Supreme Court’s directive, the ISLAMABAD judicial body investigating the leak of audio recordings involving current and retired judges and their families has postponed its investigation till further notice.
But the commission’s head, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, objected to the order issued by a five-judge SC bench on Friday, saying that the Inquiry Commission Act 2017 does not require the CJP’s involvement in the formation of a judicial commission.
On May 20 the government appointed a panel headed by Justice Isa and including the chief justices of the Balochistan High Court (BHC), Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Aamer Farooq, to investigate the authenticity of the recordings and their effect on judicial impartiality.
A five-judge Supreme Court bench led by CJP Umar Ata Bandial on Friday stopped the activities of the inquiry panel while hearing petitions from petitioners, including former prime minister Imran Khan, who challenged the creation of the committee.
An eight-page ruling written by CJP Bandial stated, “Prima facie, the very constitution of the commission is cast into doubt as the government did not consult the chief justice of Pakistan for the nomination of a judge.” The Supreme Court bench said that the Chief Justice’s authorization was needed to add two high court judges to the investigation panel.
The most senior Supreme Court justice, Justice Isa, who will succeed CJP Bandial in September, disagreed with some of the order’s premises.
The government must confer with the CJP before constituting a judicial panel, but where does that requirement appear in the Inquiry panel Act, 2017? Justice Isa declared. The administration took unilateral action, according to the directive. When a government acts, it does so by itself.
The idea that a high court judge need the approval of the CJP before being appointed to a judicial commission was also rejected by Justice Isa.
Federalism stipulates that each states must have their own authority. Justice Faiz Isa warned that the Supreme Court’s remarks will have a devastating effect on federalism.
“We have to follow the law and not the constitutional tradition,” he continued.
Justice Isa had already questioned Pakistan’s AGP, Mansoor Awan, on why he hadn’t argued a legal matter in front of the Supreme Court. You contradict yourself: “You say one thing here and the opposite there.”
The Chief Justice of Pakistan was appointed to lead the commission, and Justice Isa questioned him on his objections.
On Friday, AGP Awan asked for the chance to make an initial argument, suggesting that CJP Bandial would want to think about stepping down from the bench due to a potential conflict of interest.
Before delivering the ruling, the bench did not serve notifications to the respondents, which included the commission, or hear arguments from both sides, which Justice Isa questioned the AGP about.
The court could not halt the commission’s operations without first notifying it. After hearing the parties’ arguments, the Supreme Court will make an order.
Justice Isa questioned the AGP, wanting to know if the SC had notified him of the hearing or if he had just happened to be in court on Friday (May 26). I was advised you should show up in court, and here I am. The AGP said, “I received a notification after the hearing.
The judge expressed regret that the court had not notified the commission of the stay order in any official capacity. One commissioner flew in from Quetta early this morning to take part in the meetings in Islamabad. He would not have been spared this work if we had known sooner.
The court then questioned the AGP whether any of the constitutional petitions filed against the commission included the commission as a defendant. In a word, yes, said the AGP. In petitions No. 14 and 14/2023, the Commission has been named as the Respondent.
As a result of this, the commission decided to postpone its meeting for the time being.
