Petitioners ask SC to adjourn Isa case

Say lawyers will find it difficult to attend Oct 28 hearing due to bar election, opposition protest

ISLAMABAD: Individuals and groups who have filed petitions against a presidential reference that seeks Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa’s removal due to his alleged misconduct have requested the apex court to adjourn next hearing of the case in view of a bar council’s election and opposition’s protest.

The apex court’s ten-judge full court – headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial – is set to take up the petitions against the presidential reference on October 28, two days ahead of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) election which is scheduled for October 31.

The petitioners said all advocates of the Supreme Court throughout Pakistan including the counsels in these petitions are engaged in election activities and will be busy throughout the next week beginning from October 28.

They said travelling conditions throughout Pakistan are likely to be disturbed during the next week due to impending Azadi march of opposition parties whose convoys will converge on Islamabad on Oct 31.

“It may kindly be noticed that the present petition and a number of other connected petitions have been filed by the leading bar association and bar councils from all over Pakistan.



“The counsels in the cases come from various parts of Pakistan particularly from … Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Lahore for appearing before this Hon’ble Court in these cases,” said the SCBA petition.

It said due to disturbed travelling conditions in the next week, it might not be possible for these counsels to travel to Islamabad to attend the case. “For the reasons mentioned above, it is in the interest of justice that these petitions are adjourned to the following week beginning 04.11.2019 (November 4).”

The federal government in May this year filed a presidential reference against Justice Isa.

The reference claimed that the judge, who is in line to become the country’s top judge in coming years, did not disclose his family members’ assets in his wealth statement. Later, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa started hearing the reference.

However, the PBC challenged the SJC’s proceedings and described the reference as based on ill intention. Justice Isa also claimed that his judgment in Faizabad sit-in case had prompted the powers that be to implicate him in the case.