The matter of a judge's transfer

In the present charged atmosphere any real or perceived procedural digression in legal cases the opposition politicians face is a recipe for inviting controversy. So it has been since the special anti-narcotics court judge hearing a bail petition of PML-N leader, Rana Sanaullah, in a narcotics smuggling case abruptly recused himself from the case, saying he had been "stopped from working" via a WhatsApp message, and that his services "have been repatriated to the Lahore High Court". The PML-N is crying foul. The party secretary general Ahsan Iqbal and information secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb called an emergency news conference where they attributed the transfer to mala fide intentions of the government. Without naming any names they claimed that the move had come following a "secret meeting" between a senior judge of the Lahore High Court (LHC) and a sitting minister at the Kashmir House in Islamabad on Tuesday night, which was "inappropriate and against the judicial norms." Later, Ahsan also accused the law ministry of issuing transfer orders for three judges hearing cases against his party leaders, Maryam Nawaz, Hamza Shahbaz and Khawaja Saad Rafique, (one of the three reassigned duties was not involved in any of these cases).
Responding to the allegations, Law Minister Farogh Naseem acknowledged that he did have a meeting with the LHC Chief Justice Sardar Shamim Khan in the presence of AJK Chief Justice Tabassum Aftab Alvi, but only to discuss law reforms regarding overseas Pakistanis. The notification regarding the judges' transfer, he explained, was issued on August 26, i.e., two days before that meeting, and that no WhatsApp message was sent to any judge by his ministry. Given the usual delays and inaction that mark administrative matters, it is quite possible that the notification did not reach the judge in time, and someone in the know informed him through a WhatsApp message. But then there is the confusion created by Special Adviser to the Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Firdous Ashiq Awan, who claimed in a TV talk show that the notification was issued on August 11. Things just don't add up.
Further complicating the matter are two important points. One is that before adjourning the hearing till September 7, the judge felt it necessary to say "I am answerable to Almighty Allah only, and [my] decision would have been on merit, irrespective of who is involved in this case." Second, Ahsan Iqbal claimed the judge was moved out because he was about to grant bail to Rana Sanaullah. This merits the question, how did he know that in advance? Besides, the Anti-Narcotics Force prosecutor had asked the court for some time to prepare his arguments as he had been entrusted with the case just one day earlier, which suggests the verdict was not about to be announced so soon, at least not the same day. In any event, the aforementioned statements raise some uneasy questions. It is imperative therefore that the authority concerned issue a proper clarification about the timing of its action.