CJP Bandial named among Time's 100 Most Influential People

The polite and understated chief justice of Pakistan is the antidote to the rising temperatures, writes Aitzaz Ahsan

Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial has been named among the 100 Most Influential People of 2022 by Time magazine.

The top judge "is widely respected for his personal integrity, as he, the Columbia- and Cambridge-­educated jurist, bears the heavy mantle of not just delivering justice but also being seen to do so," seasoned lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan noted in the profile penned by him and placed in the leaders' category.

Ahsan detailed Judge Bandial's persona in the context of the political unrest and ouster of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman from power after a no-trust vote by parliament, and the role of the court led by the judge in overcoming the constitutional and political crisis.

Also read: Imran Khan among Time’s 100 most influential people

"Pakistan, a nation of more than 220 million, is too big to fail yet too unpredictable to ignore. With a fragile economy in a hostile neighbourhood, the country was already walking a tightrope before the ouster of prime minister Imran Khan’s government by a unified opposition backed by the army," the senior lawyer explained.

He added, "The polite and understated chief justice of Pakistan and antidote to the rising temperatures", took on the task when the country's economy and the civil-military ties were at a critical point.

Pointing to the SC ruling overturning then prime minister Imran Khan's move to dissolve the Parliament, declaring it unconstitutional, Ahsan noted, "As other institutions lock horns in a battle for advantage ahead of impending elections, the court turned up as the final arbiter."

Umar Ata Bandial: A profile

Justice Bandial received his law degree from the University of Cambridge in 1981 and was elevated to the rank of a judge of the Lahore High Court (LHC) in 2004.

Bandial had declined the oath under PCO in 2007 but was restored as a judge of the LHC during the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) regime through the Naek formula.

He served as the chief justice of the LHC for two years, after which he was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court in June 2014.

During his career, Justice Bandial rendered judgments on several important public and private law issues. These included pronouncements on civil and commercial disputes, constitutional rights and public interest matters.

According to renowned legal expert Reema Omer, CJ Bandial was part of the 21st Amendment judgment, which stated that the trial of civilians for terrorism by military courts did not violate the right to a fair trial or judicial independence.

He was also a signatory of the majority ruling authored by former judge Azmat Saeed Sheikh where salient features of the Constitution were given.

Justice Bandial himself had authored the judgment that declared disqualification under Article 62 (1) (f) – which stated that there must be a declaration from a Court of Law for declaring a candidate disqualified from being elected or chosen as a member of the parliament or the provincial assembly – is for life, and that Articles 62 and 63 reflect Islamic values and therefore are integral to scheme of the Constitution.

He was part of the bench that disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif as the leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and was also part of the bench that declared Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan as “Sadiq and Ameen”.

However, the same bench had disqualified PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen for life under Article 62 (1) (f) of Pakistan’s Constitution.

He was further part of the court which quashed the presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa and directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to conduct an inquiry regarding foreign properties of SC judge family members. However, his judgment was overturned by a majority of judges on April 26, 2021.

Justice Bandial also authored the order that suspended the Balochistan High Court (BHC) judgment on Defense Housing Authority (DHA) Quetta, wherein the BHC verdict had held that 6(1) (b) of the DHA Quetta Act, which allowed DHA Quetta to acquire land under the Land Acquisition Act, violated the Constitution.

In February last year, Justice Bandial set aside the Peshawar High Court (PHC) ruling that directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to probe into alleged corruption in the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

Khurram Parvez – the rights activist

Time also named Kashmiri rights defender Khurram Parvez, who was arrested in November of last year.

“Khurram Parvez, who serves as chairperson of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, was arrested in November of last year,” it said.

It noted that the activist “had to be silenced, for his voice that resounded around the globe for his fierce fight against human rights violations and injustices in the Kashmir region.”

The profile further stated: “The arrest came almost a year after India revoked the special status given to Kashmir and detained hundreds who protested in the streets. It was not the first time that Parvez was forcibly silenced.’

The attacks, it added, against him speak volumes of the truth he represents at a time when the world’s largest democracy is being called out for its persecution of the more than 200 million Indian Muslims.”