Justice Qazi Faez Isa has urged the Supreme Court to declare that present chairman and members of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) are no longer competent to hear Presidential Reference against him on account of the "bias" shown in the Council's order dated August 19. The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on August 19 had dismissed a reference against Justice Qazi for writing letters to President Arif Alvi for supplying a copy of the reference. The order, authored by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa who is also the chairman of the SJC, gave details of the meeting that took place between CJP and Justice Qazi in the Council's order.
Justice Qazi on Monday filed an application under Orders XXV, XXVII, XXXIII Rule 6 of Supreme Court Rules, 1980 read with Article 184 (3) of the Constitution. He further prayed the petition be heard by the full court comprising all "eligible" judges of the apex court.
He also asked the Supreme Court to hold that the Council's order is per incuriam and does not have any effect or bearing on any other matter; direct Registrar SC to upload his Interim Replies submitted to the Council and this application on to the Supreme Court website; and restrain the federal government, PEMRA and all agencies, departments, bodies working under the federal government from interfering in the dissemination of his Interim Replies, this application and all other filings by him.
Justice Qazi wrote that the Council "overlooked" the fact that it was the Prime Minister [Imran Khan] on whose advice Reference No. 1 was stated to have been filed by the President. It was the Prime Minister who "dragged" his only spouse and two adult children. However, the Council order said: "Dragging the Prime Minister and his different spouses and children into the matter [by the petitioner] through such letters was in bad taste."
Justice Qazi claimed that his wife and adult children were "illegally" surveilled, Pakistan's intelligence apparatus was deployed (if directed, details in this regard will be submitted) and public funds were also misused. The personal data, records and documents of his wife and adult children were probed, examined, scrutinised, dissected and analysed, including the confidential record maintained by NADRA, FIA, Passport & Immigration Office, FBR and Ministry of Interior.
"The harvested mismatched information and documents were then used to paint half-truths and put together a false reference; an insidious attack was launched against him. The order overlooks the said misdeeds of the Prime Minister and his team and instead expresses all its sympathy for the Prime Minister," he said.
Reacting to the Council's order authored by its chairman that "the assertion of the respondent-Judge [Justice Qazi] that the present information against him had been taken up by the Council out of turn is merely speculative" because all complaints "are taken up for consideration by the Council immediately" and "the record can vouch for that," he submitted that "the SJC record" is not disclosed. "The record is not in the public domain. It is not available on any website. It is not compiled in a quarterly, biannual or annual report. It is not known to the judges of the Supreme Court, who are not on the Council," he said.
He regretted that Council order exonerated the SJC Secretary [SC Registrar], who, amongst his many listed "misdeeds", had also processed Waheed Shahzad Butt's complaint in "undue haste". The order disregards the secretary's "shenanigans", violation of constitutional provisions and failure to follow standard procedural practices, which had been detailed by the petitioner in the interim reply.
Justice Qazi alleged that it is all the more puzzling for him that Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, whom he has always treated as his elder, has "disrespected, disparaged, denigrated and castigated him in the strongest of terms". He submitted that the language used by the Chief Justice/SJC Chairman in the Council's order sadly demonstrates "his lordships bias and prejudice towards" him.
"The Council's order authored by the chairman made a factual determination against the petitioner without even hearing him. The Council also determined a number of constitutional, legal and factual issues without providing a single hearing to the Petitioner," he said.
The Council's order found his words to be in bad taste and distasteful, but "CJP Khosa remained unmoved by the government team's propaganda and character assassination" of him, his wife and adult children and of the "vitriol spewed against him" (a sitting judge of the Supreme Court) by the government's team including by its Attorney General, the petitioner said.
He claimed that the Chief Justice, who is the head of the judiciary, did not voice his concern nor took any action with regard to the government's said disclosure of Presidential Reference and the 'character assassination' of the petitioner and his family.
Justice Qazi wrote that he does not raise these issues merely for the enforcement of his own fundamental rights but also because something far more sinister is afoot; the very destruction of the independence of the judiciary enshrined in the Constitution at the hands of an Executive which has overstepped the prescribed constitutional boundaries.
He requested the Supreme Court to direct that the Council's order should not be published in any legal publication, and if it is to be published then this application too should be published to provide a complete picture to those reading it therein; ad interim orders in this regard are also solicited. He requested to initiate or direct that appropriate action be initiated, including contempt of court proceedings, against the complainant of Reference No. 427 [Waheed Butt] for filing a false complaint.