The superior courts are facing embarrassment as the government is not implementing their decisions regarding civil liberties and release of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and activists.
Some lawyers believe that the superior courts orders are not being taken seriously on account of their internal divisions. A lawyer said the top judiciary was also divided in March 2007 when former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was removed on charges of misconduct.
“Majority of [the Supreme Court] judges strongly reacted to this mistreatment of the chief justice. Something similar happened when a presidential reference was filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa. The SC judges quashed that reference ultimately.”
However, another lawyer said the judiciary is in a weak position now and cannot question state institutions in any matter.
“If the judiciary had got completely united in the Justice Isa case then the present situation could be averted. Now complaints of misconduct are being filed against judges as a pressure tactic.”
He said the apex court could not give a strong message to the “powerful circles” in the Justice Isa case. The counsel for Justice Isa had insisted that reference against the SC judge was filed after his judgment in the Faizabad sit-in case.
Some senior lawyers agree that complaints that are filed against judges in reaction to their decisions will have a chilling effect on the whole judiciary. Now a judge of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), who had dismissed a petition filed against PTI chief Imran Khan in the Tyrian White case, is facing allegations of misconduct.
A lawyer from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) has sent a complaint to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), leveling various allegations against the senior IHC judge.
The copy of the complaint is being shared with the media. However, it is yet to be registered. Interestingly, the same judge last Monday recused himself from hearing Imran Khan’s plea for a protective bail.
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