Apex court issued written orders to NAB chairman to submit a verified copy of the letter and directed him to disclose the names of the authorities and media persons to whom he had sent it. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court took ‘serious’ note of a controversial letter the head of the anti-corruption watchdog wrote to the president, in which he accused the superior judiciary of trying to influence the upcoming elections, among other allegations.
Hearing the high-profile rental power projects case on Wednesday, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry demanded an authentic copy of National Accountability Bureau Chairman Fasih Bokhari’s letter, dated January 27 and dispatched from his home address.
“We want to determine whether the letter was written in an effort to pressure the court or to bring hatred and ridicule to the judiciary,” said the chief justice, adding that no one would be allowed to interfere in the judicial process.
During the proceedings, the chief justice observed that the court would scrutinise the contents of the letter to determine the NAB chief’s reasons for drafting the document, which amounts to “criticising and pressuring” the court.
Bokhari, who had also expressed reservations over the Supreme Court’s position on NAB’s mandate defined in the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999, was not present during Wednesday’s hearing.
Chief Justice Chaudhry asked NAB Prosecutor General KK Agha to convey the seriousness of the issue to the NAB chairman. “We are very serious about this and will not allow the judiciary to be maligned by anyone,” he said, adding that the letter had deliberately been circulated in the electronic and print media to malign the court. However, the prosecutor general maintained that it was a private letter.
The chief justice said that the court would not take notice if it was a private letter. However, he warned of serious consequences if it proved otherwise.
“On November 3, 2007, we did not even allow a military dictator to interfere in the courts. How can we allow the NAB chairman to do so?” the chief justice added.
Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Khwaja Asif told the bench that the letter was sent through NAB’s media cell.
The apex court issued written orders to the NAB chairman to submit a verified copy of the letter and directed him to disclose the names of the authorities and media persons to whom he had sent it. The hearing was adjourned until Thursday.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2013.
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I hope this admiral resigns.
It is sad once again to see that the dry-cleaned Chief Justice has already made up his mind even before issuing a notice to Admiral Fasih Bokhari that the letter written to the President is either "to pressure the court or to bring hatred and ridicule to the judiciary," This is a mockery of justice; the CJ has already made up his mind which is a violation of that most basic of principles of natural justice that no one shall be condemned unheard. The CJ might huff and puff as much as he likes but the fears expressed by the Chairman National Accountability Bureau ring true. We must keep in mind that Admiral Bokhari resigned from being Chief of Naval Staff on a matter of principle and deserves to be respected. Let us see if the CJ has the guts to take action against someone of his stature for in the past he has merely huffed and puffed.
Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Khwaja Asif told the bench that the letter was sent through NAB’s media cell.
Why was he asked this question by the court? What a joke our higher judiciary has become.