The Supreme Judicial Council has decided to issue show-cause notices to two top judges – Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa and the Sindh High Court (SHC) judge KK Agha — for allegedly concealing offshore properties, reported a local media outlet.
SJC still has to issue a statement on this.
The case against the two judges has been underway in the apex judicial body despite reservations by the lawyers, who say the references filed by the president are based on mala fide intent. A five-member larger SJC bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa and comprising Apex Court’s Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Sindh High Court’s Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Shaikh and Peshawar High Court’s Chief Justice Waqar Ahmed heard the case.
On Friday, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Anwar Mansoor Khan submitted documents as evidence to establish allegations of misconduct against the judges. The government had filed references against two in the SJC in May after complaints were received against them of concealing their assets. President Arif Alvi had forwarded the references to the SJC following which the top judicial forum sought AGP Mansoor Ali Khan’s assistance over the complaint.
Justice Isa is accused of allegedly possessing three properties in the name of his wife and children and Justice K. K. Agha of the SHC is said to have in his possession two properties in the United Kingdom.
The decision to try judges in the SJC was condemned by the lawyer bodies across the country, which called out the government for filing the reference against the judges with a mala fide intent.
In this regard, the Supreme Court Bar Association President Amanullah Kanrani had given a call to observe July 2 as a ‘black day’ in protest against the reference. A partial strike was also witnessed at the Islamabad High Court Bar and the district bar association; however, lawyers appeared for some urgent cases.