LHC orders PMO to stop agencies from interacting with judges

Justice Shahid Karim issued 5-point SOPs to prevent interference in the judiciary

KARACHI:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has instructed the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to issue directives to all civil and military agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), prohibiting them from contacting or approaching "any judge" or their staff.

Justice Shahid Karim issued five SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) in a written order which surfaced on Saturday, in response to a complaint lodged by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) judge in Sargodha.

The judge alleged harassment after reportedly declining to meet officials from an intelligence agency.

Former LHC Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan had taken notice of the judge's complaint, filed through the registrar, and initiated proceedings. Justice Karim assumed jurisdiction over the case after Chief Justice Khan was appointed to the Supreme Court.

During a previous hearing, Justice Karim had observed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif bore responsibility and accountability for the actions of intelligence agencies, which fell under his authority.

In a written order dated June 27, the judge noted that it was “imperative” to proceed on certain issues that “regularly come before this court” and regarding which “directions are necessary to be issued in order to protect the independence of the judiciary”.

“Instructions shall go out by the Prime Minister’s Office to all civil or military agencies including the Intelligence Bureau as well as Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) regarding strict directions not to approach or contact any judge whether of the superior judiciary or sub-ordinate judiciary or any member of their staff in future,” he ordered subsequently.

Similar directions were also issued for the Punjab police.

The order further wrote “Likewise, instructions shall be issued by the Inspector General of Police, Punjab to all police officers […] not to contact directly any judge of superior judiciary or the sub-ordinate judiciary regarding the merits of any pending judicial proceedings before these courts.”

The judge emphasized that actions concerning the security of ATCs throughout Punjab would solely be implemented "with the consultation and agreement of the respected judge of that court and not otherwise". He cautioned that the inspector general and police chief would be "held personally accountable" and face contempt proceedings if they disregarded the directive.

Justice Karim further instructed ATC judges throughout Punjab to install call-recording apps on their mobile phones. He wrote ““[They] shall be bound to record all such calls which they receive and with regard to which the learned judges have apprehension that they have been made to influence any judicial proceedings before them.”

The judges’ order also wrote “A direction is issued to the judges of ATCs across Punjab to deal and decide the cases relating to May 9, 2023, expeditiously and on priority.”

The LHC also ordered the ATC judge in Sargodha and the court staff to collaborate in the investigation as it said “All investigation proceedings should be video recorded and the record shall be maintained by the police as also remitted to this court through the registrar.”

The order concluded that the proceedings were adjourned till July 8.

The issue stemmed from when the Sargodha ATC judge on his first day in charge on June 7 complained that he was informed that someone claiming to represent the ISI wanted to meet him in his office.

The judge stated that he immediately turned down the request.

Since then, he detailed several instances of harassment aimed at his family. These included tampering with the gas meter outside his official residence in Bahawalpur, where he worked before being transferred to Sargodha.

Additionally, he mentioned that his family received an unusually high electricity bill for the previous month, which he believed to be fake. He suspected the possibility of collusion between the power company and members of the intelligence agency.

The judicial officer also reported that unknown individuals had teased his relatives by disclosing personal information about him.