The contempt petition against Senior Puisne Judge Qazi Faez Isa of the Supreme Court, as well as the chief justices of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) and the Islamabad High Court (IHC), was dismissed by the apex court on Monday after the petitioner dropped his claim.
The matter was heard and determined in chambers by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial.
In his appeal, lawyer Riaz Hanif Rahi argued that on May 26, a five-member bigger bench of the Supreme Court had temporarily halted the work of a judicial panel headed by Justice Isa and including BHC Chief Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq.
Nonetheless, on May 27 (despite the court order), the panel that was tasked with investigating the leaked audios involving some current and past justices and their families met in courtroom 2 of the Supreme Court building.
A three-member panel presided over the proceedings, and Rahi claimed they had no business “encroaching” on the Supreme Court’s hearing space. He said the other two judges were mute while Justice Isa conducted the hearings for ulterior motives.
After the May 26 judgment, PML-N senior leader Maryam Nawaz verbally attacked the CJP-led bench, prompting the petitioner to file a contempt of court prosecution against her.
However, the SC registrar had sent back the contempt petition with some concerns.
The registrar had mentioned the petition’s “scandalous language” and how the petitioner hadn’t specified which elements of the supreme court’s May 26 order the judicial commission had disregarded. The petition was deemed to be without merit by the registrar.
Rahi challenged the SC registrar’s rejection of his application. He initially appealed the registrar’s order, but eventually withdrew the contempt petition. It’s interesting that CJP Bandial has two Justice Isa-related cases scheduled for hearing in his chamber.
To investigate more than a half-dozen leaked audio clips reportedly implicating certain current and former members, the PML-N led federal government on May 20 created a judicial commission chaired by Justice Isa.
On the other hand, a five-person Supreme Court bench halted the investigation on May 26.
An eight-page ruling written by CJP Bandial stated, “Prima facie, the very constitution of the commission is cast in doubt as the government did not consult the chief justice of Pakistan for the nomination of a judge.”
The May 27 meeting of the judicial commission was postponed indefinitely in light of the Supreme Court’s directive.
However, Justice Isa objected to the ruling on the grounds that the Inquiry panel Act 2017 does not require the CJP’s involvement in the formation of a judicial panel.
