A scandal has erupted in which former Punjab Chief Minister Ch Pervez Elahi is being seen as fixing a Supreme Court judge. At least, that is what federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah accuses him of doing in the course of a phone conversation. Ch Pervez has denied stoutly that he has said anything improper, claiming that he was merely engaging in a discussion about lawyers. That might well be correct, but that does not obviate the need for a thorough probe. Previous audioleaks have tended to show prominent figures in a bad light. Debate has centred around how and when the recordings were made and some of them generated a sort of secondary discussion about how salacious, or even how perverted, were the private lives of prominent persons. However, while they might have been seen as showing the tottering foundations of the social order, they did not show that the country’s institutions were being threatened, these audioclips raise the suspicion that not only is a former chief minister willing to suborn judges of the Supreme Court, but that he has found at least one judge who was willing to be suborned.
The superior judiciary is normally jealous enough of its reputation to be quick to issue contempt notices when it suspects its reputation has been damaged. Contempt in the face of the court, such as when its orders are ignored, are clear enough, but there is more debate about attempts to lower the image of the judiciary. However, the matter must be investigated thoroughly. No judge who given the impression that he is in anyone’s pocket can do justice. On the other hand, if Rana Sanaullah’s suggestions are false, he and whoever misled him, must be punished They must not be allowed to suggest that judges of the superior courts are willing to do anyone’s will.
The judiciary was exempted from the purview of the National Accountability Bureau because it claimed to have an effective accountability mechanism in the shape of the Supreme Judical Council. Now is the time to use that mechanism, as one bad fish should not be allowed to spoil a barrel full of hardworking and learned judges who have dedicated their lives to doing justice.
