The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the misconduct references filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa, saying the judge was being targeted for his verdict in the Faizabad sit-in case.
The petition was filed by SCBA President Amanullah Kanrani, and the respondents are the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), the president of Pakistan (through the principal secretary to the president), and the federation of Pakistan.
The petitioner contends that the references against Justice Isa “while cloaked in pious proclamations of accountability – are actually rooted in mala fides of fact and law.”
“[The references] in fact, are an outcome of a joint and systematic attempt being made by certain visible, and certain invisible, quarters within the executive branch to intimidate judges into subjugation and permanently fetter the independence of the judiciary,” states the petition.
On Wednesday, Justice Isa had moved the apex court against the misconduct references filed against him in the SJC by the government on the directives of President Arif Alvi.
On May 29, the government had filed a reference against Justice Isa in the SJC for owning properties abroad under his wife and children names and not mentioning them in his wealth statement.
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 is hearing the case.
The 354-page petition says that the reference was filed on the basis of mala fide intentions. A total of 13 respondents, including the Pakistan Bar Council and Supreme Court Bar Association, have been named in the petition.
In a petition, Justice Isa also asked the court to halt the proceedings in the SJC till a verdict is given on his petition.
