ISLAMABAD
\nChief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial said on Friday that only the chief justice had the power to nominate a Supreme Court (SC) judge for inquiry commissions.
\nA five-member larger bench was hearing petitions filed against the government forming a judicial inquiry commission to probe into the audio leaks surrounding the superior judiciary.
\nLast week, the federal government had formed the judicial commission to probe into over half-a-dozen leaked audio clips allegedly involving some current and former members of the superior judiciary and their family members to determine their \u201cveracity\u201d and \u201cimpact on the independence of the judiciary\u201d.
\nThe three-man judicial comission is led by SC senior puisne judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprises Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq.
\nHowever, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Abid Zuberi filed a petition in the top court against the formation of the commission, arguing that the body was in violation of articles 9, 14, 18, 19, and 25 of the Constitution.
\nSubsequently, Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial formed a five-judge larger bench to take up petitions filed against the formation of a judicial inquiry commission probing into the audio leaks allegedly involving current and former members of the superior judiciary and their family members.
\nApart from the CJP as the head, the bench includes Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Shahid Waheed.
\nDuring today\u2019s hearing, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan expressed reservations against the five-member larger bench headed by CJ Bandial
\nAt the outset of the hearing, the AGP raised objections over the constitution of the bench. In particular, he objected to the inclusion of the CJ himself in the bench.
\n\u201cI wish to bring the 6th Amendment to the court\u2019s attention,\u201d he said, which pertains to the retirement of chief justices of SC and high courts.
\nHowever, the court proceeded to express its dismay over the government\u2019s decision to proceed with the nomination of judges in the commission probing the audio leaks.
\nThe AGP requested CJP Bandial to recuse from the bench but he refused to do so, saying that the government did not approach the chief justice for nomination of judges for inquiry commission as there were several judgments to support these points.
\n\u201cThe government cannot choose judges of its liking to sit on a bench,\u201d remarked CJ Bandial.
\n\u201cIt is the CJP\u2019s domain to nominate judges for a commission,\u201d remarked CJ Bandial, adding that \u201cit is not necessary that the CJ includes himself in the commission and nor is the CJ bound by the wishes of the government.\u201d
\n\u201cWe respect the government completely,\u201d he stressed, but regretted that it had \u201crushed through laws to regulate the CJ\u2019s powers\u201d.
\n\u201cWe had raised an issue [with the government] that Article 184 posits that at least five judges must be included in the bench,\u201d he continued, \u201chad you consulted us, we would have guided you better on this.\u201d
\n\u201cRespected AGP, this is a matter of the independence of the judiciary,\u201d he exclaimed, questioning \u201chow could the government pick judges to serve its own purposes?\u201d
\n\u201cI am sorry to say this, but the government has caused a rift between the judges,\u201d responded CJ Bandial.
\n\u201cEnough is enough,\u201d CJ Bandial said, telling AG Awan to \u201csit down\u201d and to \u201crequest the government to respect the constitutional traditions\u201d.
\nAG Awan insisted that he could \u201cclarify the issue\u201d, but the CJ told the government to \u201cbear quarters in mind\u201d.
\n\u201cThe government nominated the judges for the inquiry commission itself,\u201d he said, observing that \u201cpreviously the government had issued three different notifications nominating judges which were later taken back.\u201d
\n\u201cThe 2017 Act has not been challenged,\u201d argued the AGP.
\n\u201cWe will return to this issue later,\u201d responded CJ Bandial. However, AG Awan insisted that he was prepared to argue this point \u201cright away\u201d.
\nThe court maintained its reservations about the constitution of the inquiry position, stating that the move stood in violation of the trichotomy of powers and was a breach of Article 209.
\n\u201cThis is not an issue of egos,\u201d the CJ said, \u201cwe speak of the constitution here\u201d.
\nJustice Munib Akhtar also observed that \u201cit appears as though the Supreme Judicial Council\u2019s powers have been granted to the commission\u201d.
\n\u201cAccording to Article 209, a reference can be filed with an executive head after any information is received,\u2019 he further said, \u201cbut how can a misconduct case be handed over from the council to a commission?\u201d
\n\u201cEven if the judges agree to it, this simply cannot be done,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cIt seems like the constitutional principle of the division of powers has been gravely breached,\u201d the judge added.
\nHe also regretted that the government failed to order the media regulatory authority, PEMRA from broadcasting the alleged audio leaks. The AGP also joined him in lamenting the lack of action to the extent of PEMRA.
\nAfter completing the proceedings, the CJ remarked that a short order will be issued.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial said on Friday that only the chief justice had the power to nominate a Supreme Court (SC) judge for inquiry commissions. A five-member larger bench was hearing petitions filed against the government forming a judicial inquiry commission to probe into the audio leaks surrounding the superior judiciary. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253312,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[8565],"class_list":{"0":"post-333593","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-bandial"},"yoast_head":"\n