Supreme Court Judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa. PHOTO: FILE

Justice Isa’s counsel seeks to adjourn review plea hearing

Muneer A Malik moves an application, requesting SC to adjourn hearing in view of his Covid isolation


Hasnaat Malik November 15, 2020
ISLAMABAD:

As a six-judge larger bench of the Supreme Court is going to take up on Monday the review petitions filed against the apex court’s June 19 order in Justice Qazi Faez Isa case, Isa’s attorney Muneer A Malik has sought adjournment of the case.

The larger bench is headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial and includes Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik, Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed.

The bench will take up the review petitions filed by Justice Isa, his wife Sarina Isa and superior bars including the Pakistan Bar Council and the Supreme Court Bar Association.

According to sources, Muneer A Malik has moved an application in the apex court seeking adjournment of the hearing. Malik in his application said he has been advised isolation as his associate counsel Salahuddin Ahmed and a family member have tested positive for Covid-19.

On June 19, the 10-judge full-court quashed a presidential reference that alleged that Justice Isa had committed misconduct by not disclosing his family member’s foreign properties in his wealth statement. The reference had sought his removal.

In the split order, seven of the judges had, however, referred the case to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and ordered the tax authority to launch an inquiry into foreign assets of Justice Isa’s family.

The short order had asked the FBR chairman to present a report on the basis of the inquiry to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), the constitutional forum that can hold a superior judge accountable.

The judges included in the larger bench that will hear the review petitions are those who wrote the majority judgment. However, one member of the bench, Justice Faisal Arab, has retired.

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