Justice Isa files replies to notices

PBC likely to challenge presidential references in SC

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Justice Qazi Faez Isa has personally submitted his replies in the Supreme Judicial Council to two show-cause notices on the non-disclosure of family’s foreign properties in the wealth statements and writing letters to the president.

Justice Isa submitted both the replies in the late hours of July 31 as the 14-day deadline ended at 11pm. He had moved an application in the SJC, requesting to supply relevant material on the basis of which the reference was filed against him.

The judge had also requested for extending time for filing the replies to the show-cause notices after going through the material. However, it is learnt that the SJC did not entertain his application, saying that the SJC members were not available in Islamabad and that the plea could not be considered in a short period of time.



The justice in his reply against requested the SJC to make the reference against him public. He defended writing letters to the president “as he is head of the state”. “He is the appointing authority; therefore, there is no illegality to write letters to the president,” the justice said in his reply.

Likewise, Justice Isa also gave the reason as to why he wrote letters to the president. In the matter related to foreign properties, Justice Isa in his reply revealed that before becoming a judge, his annual income was Rs37 million in 2008.

Lawyers close to SC judge revealed that Justice Isa himself drafted his preliminary replies. They also said that the judge has been convinced to challenge the presidential reference in the apex court.

Earlier, he was reluctant. However, senior lawyers Muneer A Malik and Rasheed A Rizvi met the SC judge and convinced him for filing the petition. It is also learnt that one section of the lawyers wanted the services of senior lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan to plead Justice Isa’s case in the apex court.



According to Rule 9 of the SJC Procedure of Inquiry, 2005, “If the council decides to proceed against a judge, a show-cause notice shall be issued to him along with supporting material calling upon him to explain his conduct within 14 days. On receipt of reply from the judge, the council shall convene its meeting to proceed further with the matter.”

The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has started deliberations to challenge the presidential references against Justice Isa and Sindh High Court (SHC) Justice KK Agha in the Supreme Court.

Three PBC executive members, Rasheed A Rizvi, Akhtar Hussain and Kamran Murtaza, have proposed a resolution, which says that the legal fraternity is of the view that the government is bent upon subduing the independent judiciary.

It added that the filing of the references against two upright, honest and very competent judges, which if not checked and strongly opposed, there is every likelihood that the government may continue to attack the independent judiciary to achieve its ulterior motives and designs.



“Therefore, Pakistan Bar Council hereby resolves to file a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution to challenge the ongoing proceedings of the Supreme Judicial Council on the references filed by the president against Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice K K Agha and seeking decision upon the said references by the Supreme Court itself through a bench, comprising all the judges of the Supreme Court, except for those who are members of the Supreme Judicial Council,” says the proposed resolution.

The proposed resolution also recommended that the council should authorise the PBC vice chairman and the chairman executive committee to sign and file the petition and also to authorise a counsel to represent the bar council.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that a delegation of the PBC led by Vice Chairman Syed Amjad Shah met Justice Isa at his residence. One member of the delegation told this correspondent that the SC judge was determined to contest his case as he would not tender his resignation. He added that SC judge has yet to engage a counsel in his case.