F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Friday (today) will hear references filed against Supreme Court (SC) judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa and another high court judge.
According to details, the references are scheduled to be heard at 2pm.
The government had filed references against two superior court judges, Justice Isa and Sindh High Court Judge K K Agha in the SJC after complaints were received against judges for owning properties abroad but did not mention them in their wealth statements.
President Arif Alvi had forwarded the references to the SJC.
The SJC is the only constitutional authority mandated by Article 209 of the Constitution of Pakistan to conduct inquiries into allegations of incapacity or misconduct against a judge of the Supreme Court or of a high court.
It comprises chief justice of Pakistan as chairman, two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court and two senior most judges of the high courts as members.
Yesterday on Thursday, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Amanullah Kanrani while speaking to reporters in Islamabad said, lawyers across the country will boycott courts today (Friday).
He added that the reference filed against Justice Isa cannot be called an official one in legal terms at present.
“The matter, right now, is between the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the Attorney General,” he said. “The matter is in its initial stages.”
However, he added that till the SJC did not deem it fit enough to make a case for action, the reference was “just a mere piece of paper”.
Earlier on Thursday, it was reported that former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry wrote a letter to the SJC over the government’s reference against Justice Isa.
Former CJP Chaudhry, in his letter, stressed that sending a reference to the SJC without following procedures was in violation of the Constitution and law.
The letter further read that it was not stated anywhere in the reference that Justice Isa had violated the Article of the Code of Conduct. It added that due to the reference, the judge and institution of the judiciary, as a whole, had been scandalised.
According to Chaudhry, the reference — being against constitutional provisions, untrue, without substances, and motivated — may not be entertained and be rejected without further proceedings.
Chaudhry had said the SJC should take action against the president and prime minister for violating their oath.
In a letter written to President Alvi last month, Justice Isa requested confirmation of whether the reference filed against him was under Article 209 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
