SC adjourns hearing of petition against Justice Qazi Faez Isa's appointment

Court warns petitioner of reprimand if he fails to appear in the next hearing

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the petition against the appointment of Justice Qazi Faez Isa until tomorrow (Thursday), owing to the petitioner's absence.

The court warned that action will be taken if the petitioner fails to appear before the court in the next hearing. Earlier, lawyer Hanif Rahi had filed a plea in the court to adjourn the case as he was travelling.

The three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, was to take up Rahi’s petition against the appointment of Justice Isa today. However, the petitioner had requested the court to adjourn the case, as he was tending his ailing father.



According to the application, Rahi received a call that his father is seriously ill.  He said he would not be available in Islamabad due to his father’s treatment and requested the SC to adjourn the hearing ‘in the interest of justice’.

Earlier, rejecting objections of the registrar office, the apex court had entertained Rahi’s constitutional petition against the appointment of Justice Isa, a sitting Supreme Court judge.



“After hearing the appellant in person, the office objection is overruled. Let the constitutional petition be numbered and fixed before the court whereby the question of maintainability shall be decided,” said the CJP in his written order after hearing an appeal on March 12 against the registrar office’s objections.

Two years ago, Rahi had filed a constitutional petition challenging appointment of Justice Isa as the SC judge well as his appointment as the Balochistan High Court’s chief justice in August 2009.