Justice Naqvi accuses CJP of being ‘biased’ against him

SC judge says he has no faith in SJC’s proceedings against him, CJP’s objective is ‘clear and premeditated’

ISLAMABAD:

Supreme Court judge, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi on Tuesday wrote an open letter to all judges of the apex court, levelling allegations of “bias” against Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa.

“I would not have written this letter in the interest of the preservation of the integrity — that which is left — of the institution where you and I hold public office had these been normal circumstances,” he wrote in his letter.

Justice Naqvi said that the volume of misinformation surrounding the matter of his case before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) was astounding. “I write to you today to dispel with that misinformation, to bring to your attention the unfortunate details, to bring on record the evidence of the obstruction of justice within the Supreme Court – no one shall have the privilege to plead ignorance in this matter should the opportunity come tomorrow.”

The top jurist said that justices Qazi Faez Isa and Sardar Tariq Masood in a letter — dated May 3, 2023 — to the former chief justice Umar Ata Bandial encouraged an immediate initiation of proceedings against him, post the sham audio-leaks controversy.

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“I ask, that which I have not before: Has the Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan, up until this very moment, been able to exonerate his honour and do away with the cloud of uncertainty that hangs over his and the judiciary's repute? Why is it that a judge with assets legally acquired and declared in his tax returns is being called to question before the SJC, when the Honourable Chief Justice remains immune to any such proceedings against his undeclared properties? Is there a legal or moral justification for this unreasonable disparity,” Naqvi questioned.

He said that the show cause notice issued by the SJC is afflicted with “grievous legal, constitutional and jurisdictional defects”, all of which he had communicated in his preliminary response on November 10, 2023, to the SJC.

“The Council, instead of meeting the demands of honour and propriety, decided to convene a series of meetings [November 20th, 21, 22nd] with an unmistakable objective of removing the defects specified in my Preliminary Response and issued a "Revised" SCN. As a consequence, the SJC inadvertently admitted that the initial SCN was defective, that the proceedings were initiated without any investigation or probe into the veracity of the complaints against me, that the members of the SJC are unfit to oversee the relevant proceedings on account of their decided bias and partiality.”

Justice Naqvi said that the treatment offered to him by the chairman and the members of the SJC was nothing short of disgraceful. “I have written to the SJC via their Secretary on a total of eleven instances requesting for the provision of documents necessary to the development and formation of my appropriate defence,” he said and added that his requests still have not been complied with.

“I have written in detail demanding the recusal of the Chairman and the two Honourable members of the SJC on at least 4 different occasions. My requests have not been considered, not been responded to. Did not the Chairman of the SJC in his reference before the Supreme Court of Pakistan demand the recusal of Honourable Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Sardar, Tariq Masood I ask again Is there a legal or moral justification for this unreasonable disparity, this blatant violation of my fundamental rights as guaranteed under the Constitution of Pakistan, this clear obstruction of justice that I seek from the most prestigious legal forum in the country,” he questioned.

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The SC judge said that the two petitions under Article 184(3) of the Constitution that he had filed were finally fixed for hearing before a three-member bench to convene on Friday, December 15 2023. “Without raising any objections on the constitution of the Bench myself, allow me to draw your attention to the recent Note [dated 11.12.2023] written by Honourable Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and addressed to the Registrar of the Supreme Court. The note exposes the manner in which the violations of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 have taken place at the hands of those in authority.”

He said that it was agreed between the three-member committee on Thursday, December 7 that the bench would comprise judges in the order of seniority unless a judge in question does not consent to be part of that bench.

“I leave you to draw your own conclusions as to why the Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan has decided to constitute such a bench, and in a manner such as this,” he added.

Justice Naqvi said that on December 11, 30 minutes from midnight, a letter was delivered to his residence which stated that a meeting of the SJC is scheduled for Thursday, December 14 at 2:30 PM.

“This has to be the first time in our unfortunate history that despite having a petition, filed and fixed before a bench, challenging the legality of the course of the SJC proceedings, the SJC has refused to stay said proceedings and convened a further meeting. Is the Supreme Court of Pakistan not a higher, more authoritative forum than a biased, questionable SJC? Is this acceptable conduct, acceptable management of the matter? It is not.”

He said that the chairman of the SJC is in “blatant, apparent, untethered and repeated violation of the laws, of his fundamental rights under the Constitution of Pakistan.

“This act alone is enough to prove a case of rigorous bias against the Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan I categorically state that I have no faith in the proceedings which he is operating. His objective is clear and premeditated,” he added.

He further said that his reputation was significant but the reputation of his seat was more significant. “This is, therefore, a letter to make it known that it is not a matter of my person now, it is a matter of principle — my issue is now an issue of the institution. Will the Supreme Court of Pakistan not stand for anything?”