Judges’ view on meddling conveyed to apex court
ISLAMABAD: The unanimous view of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges to check alleged meddling of intelligence officials in judicial affairs has been sent to the Supreme Court, said a report.
Quoting unnamed sources, the report said it was suggested by the IHC judges that in case of any interference in judicial matters from any operative of any intelligence agency or institution, the administration committee of the IHC will decide whether to take up the matter with the agency/institution concerned or refer the case to judicial side under Article 204 for contempt of court proceedings. If the administration committee decides, both the options can also be availed.
In case of any meddling into the judicial affairs, the IHC judge concerned will report the matter in writing to the IHC chief justice within seven days of the occurrence of such an incident.
The district court judges of Islamabad will also report such matters within seven days to the inspection judges of the IHC. However, in case a district court judge does not report the matter, he will be charged with misconduct and will face disciplinary proceedings. There is no such proposal for the IHC judges.
According to the sources, there is nothing mentioned in the letter about the alleged incidents that the six judges had earlier cited in their letter, addressed to members of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). The letter was also made public. It is said that neither there is any proposal made to probe the alleged incidents as quoted by the IHC judges nor is any evidence shared with the Supreme Court with regard to the allegations made.
A full court meeting of the IHC held a few days back decided to introduce measures to put an end to the alleged meddling of intelligence officials in judicial affairs. A statement issued by the IHC registrar had said that the judges expressed their view on the matter in a “pleasant manner” and the “unanimous view” of the judges would be submitted to the Supreme Court in the suo motu case.