SC notices realtor’s ‘planted interview’

The shockwaves released by the leaked behind-the-scenes footage of an interview of property tycoon Malik Riaz by Dunya News TV channel have stirred the masses and the judges alike, as the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan held a full-court meeting on Friday to discuss the “planted” interview.
A full-court meeting, chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, constituted a two-member committee of the apex court comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain to look into the special transmission of Dunya News co-hosted by anchorpersons Meher Bukhari and Mubashir Lucman. The committee is tasked to probe the entire controversy and give its recommendations for further course of action.
During the meeting, SC Registrar Dr Faqeer Hussain presented a report to the meeting besides playing the leaked footage. After deliberations, the meeting expressed its faith and determination in maintaining, and further strengthening the independence of judiciary to ensure free, fair and impartial dispensation of justice.
The meeting called the chairman of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and directed him to submit a comprehensive report on the issue.
The chief justice posed several questions to the chief media regulator, and asked him about the role of PEMRA in preventing airing of “contemptuous and scandalous material against the judiciary”. He observed that whenever a conspiracy was hatched against the judiciary, it had been unfolded. He enquired the PEMRA chairman about the actions his department had taken so far against such TV programmes which had been commenting upon the judiciary. The CJP told him that under the constitution such things could not even be discussed in the parliament.
The PEMRA chief told the CJP that his department had not received any complaints about the judiciary, adding that under its code of conduct, and upon receiving complaints, PEMRA could cancel the licenses of the TV channels in question. The meeting also considered the SC registrar’s note on the planted interview of Malik Riaz with Meher Bukhari and Mubashir Lucman. On Thursday evening, Dunya News’s competitors Geo TV and Dawn News showed parts of the footage, raising questions on media ethics and analysed the conduct of Malik Riaz’s interviewers. Off-screen conversations between the TV anchors and Malik Riaz show that the interview questions as well as the would-be answers were being discussed during the breaks, along with consistent instructions from the television’s administration for giving additional time to the guest.
According to the registrar’s note, the footage suggested that the entire show was pre-planned in which planted questions were being asked and the interviewer even mouth-fed certain answers. “It is clearly indicative of a pre-planned conspiracy against the judiciary to scandalise the court, prejudice the determination of pending matters in the court and bring the court/judge into hatred, ridicule or contempt,” the note said.
The note said that the same matter remained sub-judice in the suo motu case No 5 of 2012, as well as Criminal Original Petition No 48-49 of 2012.
A bench comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, in its judgment passed in the Suo Motu Case No 5 of 2012, also bemoaned the role of some anchor persons in the matter and in particular the lack of due diligence to scrutinise the material and ascertain the true facts of the case.
The report submitted by the SC registrar further said that on the face of it, the footage smelled of a planned conspiracy to shake public faith/confidence in the administration of justice and undermine the dignity/prestige of the Court, thereby tending to bring the Court/Judges into hatred, ridicule or contempt.
“It further tends to prejudice the determination of pending cases before the Supreme Court. It therefore warrants action under Article 204 of the Constitution read with Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003.”
The meeting also reviewed the report of pending and disposed of cases by the Supreme Court during the last six months.
During this period, a total of 8,217 fresh cases were instituted and 7,568 were decided. The full-court meeting expressed its satisfaction over the rate of disposal of cases, and resolved to reduce the backlog through quick and expeditious disposal.
The meeting was attended by Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Tariq Parvez, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Justice Amir Hani Muslim, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Muhammad Ather Saeed and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed.