Former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry seems unwilling to surrender the official bulletproof car.
Petitioners in the former chief justice’s bulletproof car case have challenged an Islamabad High Court order to produce the vehicle in court saying the security on the premises of the court was not appropriate to keep such an expensive vehicle there.
They have argued that the action would have an impact on the politician’s fundamental rights and security in the “present worst condition of law and order and frequent incidents of terrorism in the country”.
The vehicle is currently parked at the residence of the retired CJP.
Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the IHC on December 2 had ordered Mr Chaudhry’s counsel to produce the vehicle before the court by December 8 where it would remain parked till the adjudication of the case.
In an intra-court appeal against the interim order of Dec 2, the lawyers for Mr Chaudhry on Monday stated that one of the reasons for the appeal was “the high court premises do not have adequate arrangements to manage the security of the vehicle.” Therefore, the car could not be produced as it is supposed to be parked within the IHC’s premises.
The appeal is expected to be heard by a division bench, comprising Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi and Justice Aamer Farooq, December 6 (today).
In the ICA, the appellants argue that the case concerns the fundamental rights and security of the former CJP and that the petitioners have great concern about his life and security.
The lawyer also claimed that the vehicle was never handed over on orders of the high court, rather it was provided to the former CJP on directions of the incumbent prime minister.
Interestingly, the Establishment Division notification for providing the car – on the orders of the PM – came out after Justice Siddiqui’s January 2014 decision directing the government to provide Chaudhry with a car.
In January 2014, Justice Siddiqui had ordered that the “former chief justice shall be provided foolproof security along with possession of…a bulletproof car for his and his family’s use without putting embargo of any time specification.”
The Cabinet Division had issued a notification that said the vehicle was being provided to the former CJP for three months. However, Justice Siddiqui held that the ‘time-specific clause was unfeasible, unrealistic and discriminatory’.
A division bench of the IHC on May 11, 2016, however, set aside the order and remanded the case back to Justice Siddiqui with the direction to decide the matter after hearing all the stakeholders.
During the preliminary hearing on Dec 2, Justice Siddiqui ordered for the production of the car.
Subsequently, the government challenged the decision and filed an ICA for reclaiming the bulletproof car from the former judge-turned politician. The single-member bench had subsequently remanded the case back to Justice Siddiqui to decide it afresh.
Read more: Govt refuses to sell out SC’s owned bulletproof car to ex-CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry
