A five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court on Friday began hearing several petitions challenging the formation of a judicial commission to probe the audio leaks related to the judiciary.
A day ago, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Atta Bandyal appointed a five-member bench to hear four different petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan, Muqtadir Akhtar Shabbir under Article 184(3) of the Constitution. A bench was constituted. According to the cause list issued by the court, Advocate Riaz Hanif and President of the Supreme Court Bar Association Abid Shah Zuberi are included.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Bandyal comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Shahid Waheed is hearing the petitions.
Under Section 3 of the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act 2017, the government on May 20 appointed a high-powered judicial commission headed by senior Supreme Court judge Justice Qazi Faiz Isa along with Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Islamabad. . Chief Justice of the High Court (IHC) Aamir Farooq as a member – to investigate the audio leaks of former and present members of the judiciary. The commission has been tasked to complete the inquiry within 30 days.
In several audio leaks, the commission is probing alleged calls between former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi and a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, as well as another call between CM Elahi and a Supreme Court lawyer. Supreme Court Bench.
Subsequently, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan questioned the government for “deliberate omission” of the Terms of Reference (TORs) and challenged the formation of a three-member judicial commission on audio leaks. .
PTI chief’s lawyer and party leader Babar Awan had filed a petition on his behalf, requesting the court to quash the notification of formation of the commission.
Similarly, Zuberi had also challenged the summoning of the Audio Leaks Commission, directing it to appear before the panel in connection with the inquiry.
Prime Minister Nazir Tarar had earlier said that the government did not consult Chief Justice Bandyal before forming the commission.
The judicial panel was constituted in the wake of the widely circulated controversial audio leaks that “raised serious concerns about the independence, impartiality and integrity of the Chief Justices/Judges of the High Courts in the administration of justice”.
Meanwhile, the commission has also summoned four persons related to the alleged audios today, including Zubari, advocate Khawaja Tariq Rahim, journalist Abdul Qayyum Siddiqui and Najam Saqib, son of former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar.
Earlier this week, the commission headed by Justice Isa announced that its inquiry proceedings would be made public as it held its first hearing in Courtroom No. 7 of the Supreme Court on Monday earlier this week.
