Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, in a move purportedly to uphold the impartiality of the Supreme Court (SC), has said in an official order that Justice Qazi Faez Isa “should not hear matters involving the prime minister”.
This move comes shortly after Justice Isa submitted a written petition filed, in a personal capacity, against Prime Minister Imran Khan, wherein the CJP said that Justice Isa must not be involved in cases concerning the premier “to uphold the principle of un-biasness and impartiality”.
“It would be in the interest of justice that the honourable Judge [Justice Isa] should not hear matters involving the Prime Minister of Pakistan,” the written order reads.
In his personal petition, Justice Isa “sought to place on record photocopies of certain documents statedly received by him from some anonymous source through a WhatsApp message”. These documents were concerning the recently dismissed case against the Rs500 million uplift grant for lawmakers allegedly approved by the PM.
The petition regarding the aforementioned case had been heard by a five-judge larger bench headed by CJP Gulzar. The decision came as the Ministry of Finance submitted a signed undertaking of the premier, denying such an action being taken by him.
The order by the CJP further adds that Justice Isa submitted before the court copies of some documents that he said were sent to him by someone through WhatsApp.
The copies of those documents were handed over by the judge to other members of the bench. A copy was also handed over to the attorney general of Pakistan (AGP). The Justice Isa also said that he was unsure if the documents were genuine.
AGP Khalid Jawed Khan asked the court to not include the documents in the record of the case as their authenticity was questionable, the order states, adding that the AGP further pointed out that if these documents were made part of the record, “the Hon. Judge [Justice Isa] would become a complainant in the matter and in that capacity it would not be appropriate for the Hon. Judge to hear the matter”.
Regarding the suo moto case itself, the SC stated that the queries raised by the court had been addressed and there was no reason to further proceed with the case.
During a prior hearing on the case, Justice Isa had asked if funds could “be given to certain constituencies? Is it in accordance with the law to give funds for the road”.
AGP Khan at the time had responded to the apex court judge, saying the WhatsApp documents “are your complaint and would be reviewed”.
“I am not the complainant, I am just pointing [it] out; perhaps, you did not listen to me,” the judge had replied.
In response, the AGP had said: “You have been sharing your observations for a long time. It is I who has not been heard. You received a message on your WhatsApp, so you are a complainant,” he had added.
Earlier this week, Justice Isa had questioned Prime Minister Imran’s stance on the grant of development funds to members of the national and provincial assemblies after the apex court had constituted a five-judge bench, headed by CJP Gulzar.
“The letter does not have answers to the court’s questions. It seems the prime minister has not read the court’s order properly,” the judge had said at the time.
The bench had served notices on the prime minister’s principal secretary, Cabinet Division secretary, finance secretary, federal and provincial advocate generals, and provincial chief secretaries.
In January, Prime Minister Imran announced a grant of Rs500 million for each member of the national and provincial assemblies under sustainable development goals to enable them to carry out development schemes for their voters.
However, last week, Justice Isa took notice of the development, warning of legal proceedings if the move was found to be in contravention of the Constitution.
On the occasion, he had asked AGP Khan to update the court on the issue based on the government’s response.
However, the AGP responded that he would update the court after receiving instructions from the government and further reassured that “whatever action is taken will be in the light of the law, Constitution and legal precedent”.
Subsequently, Justice Isa referred the matter to the top judge for the formation of a bench.
On Wednesday, all provinces had submitted written replies to the court except for Sindh. When asked, the Sindh government’s counsel informed the court the provincial government had not given development funds to any lawmakers.
“Sindh government should have submitted a written answer,” CJP Gulzar had replied.
Meanwhile, AG Khan had told the court the grant of development funds was “linked to the Constitution”, adding that the prime minister knew that “government funds cannot be used wrongly”.
“No member of the National Assembly will be given money [directly],” he had added.
Justice Isa had questioned who had drafted the reply submitted by Principal Secretary Azam Khan. To this, Khan replied that it was “a matter between the lawyer and his client”.
“The letter does not have proper English, it does not answer the court’s questions. It seems like the prime minister has tried to keep the door open for [granting] funds,” Justice Isa had said.
“Either the prime minister should remain firm on what he said or admit he had made a mistake. Why is the prime minister hiding behind his secretary? The entire media published the news and the prime minister is silent,” the judge had said.
It is extremely unfortunate that CJP preferred to make biased remarks against Justice Qazi Faiz Issa in the announced verdict. It would have better that first of all Justice Qazi must have not been included in bench or alternatively CJP should have briefed orally not to part of any bench hearing cases against IK – the master of u-turns and lies after lies. These remarks has undermined the honour of judiciary as whole.
May Almighty Allah grant wisdom and clarity to all who matter in this Land of misfortunes. Ameen