Taking a stance: SC dismisses LHC judge’s petition

Review petition sought to expunge the apex court’s remarks against him.

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court on Saturday dismissed a sitting Lahore High Court judge’s review petition to expunge the apex court’s remarks against him in a matter related to the granting of bail to an accused in a murder case.

A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, dismissed Justice Sayyed Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi’s petition for the expunction of the court’s observations concerning him in a bail matter.

The apex court on January 3, 2013, setting aside the LHC order to grant bail to the accused [Nazir Ahmed], observed, “The discretion exercised by the learned Judge while passing the impugned order ... appears somewhat colourable because after dismissal of a second application for suspension of sentence bearing the same ground the only difference in the respondent’s third application for the same relief was a different learned counsel for that respondent.”

Last week, the apex court lamented that, “it is quite unpleasant to discuss the conduct of a judge of the superior judiciary through a judgment”.

Justice Asif Khosa noted that the court has been careful in not naming the LHC judge along with Nazir Ahmad’s counsel.

Defending its observations, the bench stated that its remarks had not been in reference with the wrong decision on the law and facts but were based purely on his inconsistency.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th, 2014.