News Desk |
In a significant development, the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) has submitted several documents as evidence to establish allegations of misconduct against the superior court judges who are facing presidential references for allegedly not disclosing their foreign properties in their wealth statements.
Subsequently, The Express Tribune reported, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) – a constitutional body tasked with scrutinizing the conduct of superior court judges – has decided to further proceed against the judges.
The paper while relying on sources stated that the SJC has decided to issue show-cause notices both to the Supreme Court judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa and the Sindh High Court (SHC) judge Justice KK Agha. However, the paper stated, there is no official confirmation by the SJC regarding this development.
The federal government through President Arif Alvi had filed references against Justice Isa and Justice Agha before the SJC over non-disclosure of their spouses’ foreign properties in their wealth statements.
Reportedly, the AGP Anwar Mansoor Khan while submitting a rejoinder to the written replies of the judges has submitted documents as evidence to establish allegations of misconduct against them.
The five-judge council led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa conducted hearing for more than an hour to examine the evidence submitted by the AGP.
According to Rule 9 of the SJC Procedure of Inquiry, 2005, “if the council decides to proceed against a judge, a show cause notice shall be issued to him along with supporting material calling upon him to explain his conduct within 14 days. On receipt of reply from the judge, the council shall convene its meeting to proceed further with the matter.
Immense Evidence against one Judge
“We have immense evidence to prove case against one judge,” the paper said while quoting a senior government official. According to the official, it said, the other judge may survive after submission of his reply in which he has submitted details as to how he acquired foreign properties.
Read more: Only 28 references pending before SJC: Supreme Court
“He has also justified why value of properties could not be disclosed in his wealth statement,” he added. The paper has speculated that “there is strong perception among lawyers that the government’s real target is the SC judge and not the SHC judge.”
Trust judges, They will Ensure Justice in Justice Isa’s Matter: CJP Khosa
In the second week of June, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Asif Saeed Khosa had cleared the air on the issue of Supreme Court’s Justice Qazi Faez Isa by saying that the government could not remove the superior court judge and the SJC would fairly deal with the matter.
“Trust the judges. They will ensure justice [in the matter],” CJP Khosa had said while responding to a query about Justice Isa at the Cambridge University in the UK. The Cambridge University Union had invited CJP Khosa to deliver a speech on June 9.
Read more: Lawyers protest, burn copies of references outside SC
The federal government through President Arif Alvi had filed references against Justice Isa and Justice Agha before the SJC over non-disclosure of their spouses’ foreign properties in their wealth statements.