SC yet to issue order in suo motu case

Lawyers believe additional notes by judges in matter related to polls may be ‘main reason'

ISLAMABAD:

Despite the passage of three days, the Supreme Court has yet to issue the written order passed on February 23 in the suo motu case related to the delay in the announcement of the date of holding elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Lawyers, representing different parties, are perplexed over the delay.

Mansoor Awan, the lawyer representing the PML-N, confirmed to The Express Tribune that the party was yet to receive the written order, which was dictated by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial after the first hearing of the case.

He added that the party’s legal team would request the court for the issuance of the written order.

Also read: Constitution stipulates elections in 90 days: CJ

Sources claimed that all the judges, who were part of a nine-member larger bench, had signed the order.

The attorney general for Pakistan's (AGP) Office also confirmed that the order had yet to be received.

There were reports about judges having conflicting opinions over the inclusion of bench member Justice Athar Minallah’s question in the written order.

However, that question would be added in the order as the CJP, while dictating it, had also observed that Justice Minallah’s query would be incorporated in it.

Similarly, some additional notes of the members of the larger bench are expected to be attached with the order.

Lawyers, belonging to the ruling political parties, are speculating that these additional notes can be the main reason for the delay.

Former additional attorney general Tariq Khokhar commenting on the delay in the issuance of the written order has said that an institution that could no longer be trusted to agree upon an inconsequential order is quite alarming.  "The fear that it may be self-inflicted makes it worse.”

“Worryingly, there is a talk of the failure of its leadership or its members individually or even collectively", he adds.

The SC’s reputation is at stake as a sense of distrust fermented around its suo motu case against the delay in the announcement of a date for polls in provinces, with now one of the members of the bench also joining the chorus expressing reservations over the move’s legality.

A nine-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and Justice Minallah, is hearing the case.

Major ruling political parties and superior bars are seeking the recusal of two members of the larger bench – Justice Ahsan and Justice Naqvi.

Even the ‘powerful circles' want this to happen.

One member of the larger bench, Justice Mandokhail, expressed his reservations over invoking the suo motu jurisdiction in the matter.

Justice Minallah questioned whether or not a full court should hear the matter, which fell under Article 184-3 of the Constitution.

It is being witnessed for the first time that one judge, while sitting on the same bench, is raising questions on the conduct of other fellow members.

The division among SC judges is widening with each passing day.

Even after Thursday’s hearing, harsh words were exchanged between some members of the larger bench.

Former Sindh High Court Bar Association president Salahuddin Ahmed said a full court should hear the matter and Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi should recuse himself from hearing the case.

PTI lawyer Chaudhry Faisal Hussain said the party had no objection to forming a full court to hear the matter.

He added that the party had complete faith in every SC judge.

It has been learnt that a division bench of the apex court, led by Justice Qazi Faez Isa, was supposed to hear cases at the SC’s Karachi Registry next week but the cause list was cancelled on Saturday.

A debate has also started as whether or not retired judges especially former CJP Saqib Nisar still had influence over the superior judiciary.

Sindh Bar Council (SBC) Vice Chairman Zulfiqar Ali Khan Jalbani and Executive Committee Chairman Inayatullah Morio have expressed their grave concerns over the constitution of the full bench by excluding senior puisne judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Sardar Tariq Masood.

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“The Sindh Bar Council always believes that [the] power of fixation of roster and cases should not rest exclusively with the chief justice,” they said in a statement.

“It is also expected that Mr Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Mr Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi should voluntarily recuse to remain as part of the bench for hearing of this important matter, which proprietary demands from them as [a] clear lack of confidence has been shown upon them by different parties in the proceedings,” the document read.

“The Sindh Bar Council calls upon the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan to take concrete steps to redress the adverse impression of the recent practice of [the] constitution of benches of his choice especially in political cases to ensure restoration of public confidence in the judiciary as a whole,” it added.

The two SBC office-bearers demanded that a full court hearing of the SC on the issue of elections be held to “give an impartial and neutral image among the legal fraternity and general public”.