Seven-member bench headed by CJP Qazi Faez Isa to hear case on Wednesday
\n ISLAMABAD
\nThe Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu notice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges\u2019 letter alleging interference by intelligence agencies in judicial matters despite the government forming a commission to probe the matter.
\nA seven-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa will hold the maiden hearing on the issue on Wednesday. Apart from the CJP the bench also comprises Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Mussarat Hilali, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.
\nThe explosive letter which surfaced last week triggered a crisis and the Supreme Court led by CJP Isa has been under pressure to hear the matter under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.
\nJust a day earlier, over 300 lawyers belonging to different bar associations across the country lauded the judges\u2019 and called upon the apex court to hear the matter under its suo motu jurisdictions.
\nThe IHC judges \u2014 Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz \u2014 wrote the letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), urging the body to convene a judicial convention over the alleged interference of intelligence agencies in judicial affairs.
\nThe development came days after the Supreme Court declared the removal of former IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui illegal, directing that he may now be considered as a retired judge.
\nThe verdict noted that the SJC proceeded against Justice Siddiqui on the \u201cassumption that the truth or falseness of the allegations levelled\u201d by the former judge was \u201cirrelevant\u201d. It also noted that the SJC opined that Justice Siddiqui had failed to substantiate, independently corroborate, substantiate or prove the allegations levelled by him.
\nFollowing the emergence of the letter, on March 27, CJP Isa chaired a full court meeting of the Supreme Court to deliberate on the matter that sought guidance from the SJC \u201cwith regard to the duty of a judge to report and respond to actions on the part of members of the executive, including operatives of intelligence agencies, that seek to interfere with the discharge of his\/her official functions and qualify as intimidation\u201d.
\nThe two-hour huddle, convened by CJP Isa, took place after bar associations of Sindh, Lahore, Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as senior lawyers demanded a probe into the allegations.
\nThe next day CJP Isa met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the advice of the full court in the presence of the law minister, attorney general, senior puisne judge and the registrar of the apex court.
\nAs a result of the meeting, the government decided to constitute a commission to probe into allegations levelled by the IHC judges.
\nFollowing the huddle, the federal cabinet on March 30 approved the constitution of an inquiry commission over allegations of the IHC judges and appointed former chief justice of Pakistan Justice (retired) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani as its head.
\nHowever, after the Supreme Court took suo motu notice it emerged that Justice (retd) Jillani has recused himself form heading the commission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Seven-member bench headed by CJP Qazi Faez Isa to hear case on Wednesday ISLAMABAD The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu notice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges\u2019 letter alleging interference by intelligence agencies in judicial matters despite the government forming a commission to probe the matter. A seven-member bench led by Chief […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397822,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-397811","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n