SJC dismissed majority complaints against judges

ISLAMABAD:

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, in a detailed report covering the initial three months of his tenure, revealed that the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) had dismissed 19 of the 29 complaints of misconduct against judges of superior courts.

Operating under Article 209 of the Constitution, the SJC is entrusted with overseeing the accountability of judges from both the top court and high courts.

The council is composed of the CJP, the next two most senior judges of the Supreme Court, and the two most senior chief justices of the high courts.

The SJC's last meeting took place in July 2021, addressing a large number of complaints.

The CJP convened a meeting of the council on Oct 27, 2023 and the earliest complaints in respect of which initial opinions had been given were considered, the quarterly report, shared by Justice Isa while addressing a workshop of Supreme Court reporters organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Press Association of Supreme Court, said.

Twenty-nine complaints were considered by the SJC, of which 19 were dismissed.

It was decided that the judges who had been complained against, and the legal heirs of those who had passed away be informed of the decision of the SJC.

Meanwhile, the lawyers filing frivolous complaints were cautioned by the SJC.

CJP Isa in his message written in the report said that Article 19-A of the Constitution granted the people the fundamental right to information. Those who were paid by the public exchequer were accountable to the people.

The SC is releasing this first quarterly report as part of its duty to better serve the people of Pakistan.

The report shared SC landmark judgements during first three months (Sept 17 to Dec 16) of CJP Isa’s tenure.

"The Supreme Court is now committed to provide information and to make meaningful the fundamental right to information as provided in Article 19A of the Constitution. It directed the Registrar to provide the information which was sought and also refunded the court fees incurred by the appellant in the case of Mukhtar Ahmad Ali v Registrar Supreme Court of Pakistan.”

In Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 case, the entire Supreme Court heard the challenge to the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023.

Read: SJC unmoved by Naqvi’s resignation

The law was sustained, except for sub-section (2) of Section 5 of the Act, which provided for retrospective appeals in respect of decisions under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.

This was the first case heard by the incumbent CJ, and also the first case heard by the entire court since 2015.

The court ensured in three hearings over 12 days, that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the president determine and must announce the date of the holding of general elections, which they did, and general elections in the country were scheduled for Feb 8, 2024.

In the military courts case, the report states that sections of the Pakistan Army Act allowing trials of civilians in military courts were declared ultra vires the Constitution by a short order of five-member bench of the SC and that their trials shall instead take place in criminal courts of competent jurisdiction.

The court also held that Mehr (dower) must be paid when demanded by the wife and costs are to be imposed on failure to pay.

"A number of applications were filed seeking review of the dharna judgment dated February 6, 2019. However, these had not been fixed for hearing for several years. The Supreme Court acknowledged that this was on account of internal manipulation, and the Court observed that every institution must act transparently and responsibly and admit wrongdoing when it occurs.”

The federal government stated that the impugned judgment was correct and set up a commission under the Pakistan Commissions of Inquiry Act, 2017 to implement it.

“The report revealed that 4,466 cases were instituted since September 17, 2023, while 5,305 cases were disposed of until December 16, 2023. Till September 17, 2023, total pending cases were 56,503 while total pendency on December 16, 2023 was 55,644. Reduction in pendency of cases in three months was 859. The pendency of cases, which had been continuously rising over the past decade, was reduced,” the report says.

On September 18, 2023, the first working day of Justice Qazi Faez Isa as the CJP, a full court meeting was convened after a gap of four years.

Full court meetings emphasise the importance of collective decision-making.

"In the aforementioned full court meeting, it was agreed to begin broadcasting/live streaming of court proceedings, ushering in a new era of accessibility to the Supreme Court's operations. For the first time in the country’s history, the case relating to the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 heard by the full court over five days was telecast; Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) successfully broadcast the entire case live."

The report said a committee was constituted, comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah, to develop lasting and effective means to broadcast SC proceedings.

“The committee was successful in making the requisite arrangements. The proceedings in Reference No 1/2011 was broadcast live on December 12, 2023 by the Supreme Court itself and it was decided to telecast public interest/important cases."

A committee was constituted, headed by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and retired Justice Manzoor Malik, for drafting/amending the (JCP) rules and determining criteria for the appointment of judges to the superior courts.

The committee held its first meeting on December 16 2023, and the co-chairs were empowered to “co-opt any person to the committee”, and they decided to co-opt a number of persons and ensured adequate representation of women and the district judiciary, as well as adding a public sector governance expert, and asked them to send in their proposals/recommendations to the committee.

The second meeting of the rule-making committee took place on December 29, 2023 and the proposed draft rules of procedure for the commission were being prepared.