Suo motu on the table as SC takes stock of ‘meddling’
As a full court meeting convened to take stock of allegations levelled by the high court judges against intelligence agencies, a proposal to initiate suo motu proceedings to probe the accusations was also discussed in the two-hour-long sitting, which ended on Wednesday without reaching a final decision.
The startling letter by six Islamabad High Court judges to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) kick-started a flurry of activities.
Signed by Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Saman Rafat Imtiaz of the IHC, the March 25 letter was addressed to the CJP and Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Munib Akhtar, as well as chief justices of the IHC and Peshawar High Court.
It detailed incidents of alleged intimidation and coercion by the intelligence agencies and asked whether there existed a state police to “intimidate” and coerce judges.
Against the backdrop of these allegations, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar will likely call on the CJP (Thursday) in his chambers. Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, the senior puisne judge, is also expected to attend.
The full court conclave concluded its deliberations minutes before iftar, but remained inconclusive. An informed source told the sitting considered initiating suo motu proceedings under Article 184(3) of the Constitution in light of the letter, but no final decision was taken in this regard.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan also met the CJP on the issue and in an interaction with the media, a worried Awan described the situation as “very alarming”, which needed a thorough probe. Chairman Executive Committee of the Pakistan Bar Council Farooq H. Naek, meanwhile, summoned a meeting of the executive committee on April 5 to discuss the situation after the judges’ letter.
PBC Vice Chairman Riazat Ali Sahar and Farooq Naek called for a thorough investigation by a proper committee, comprising at least three senior judges of the Supreme Court and constituted by CJP Isa, since the allegations of interference and intimidation were significant.
The statement emphasised the immediate necessity for the council, as the principal representative body of the legal fraternity, to address the concerning issues outlined in a letter directed to the Supreme Judicial Council.
The missive, submitted by high court judges, brings to light allegations of interference, and intimidation on the part of executives and intelligence agencies, said the statement, adding the concerns were indeed “grave and warrant immediate attention”.