The government of Pakistan has raised objections to the inclusion of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial in the five-member bench formed to hear petitions challenging the formation of a judicial commission tasked with investigating audio leaks involving the judiciary.
CJP Bandial formed the bench responsible for conducting hearings on the petitions submitted under Article 184(3) of the Constitution. Petitioners include Imran Khan, Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Muqtedir Akhtar Shabbir, Advocate Riaz Hanif, and Abid Shah Zubairi, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association.
Justice CJP Bandial presides over a bench consisting of Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Shahid Waheed.
During the hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan requested CJP Bandial to excuse himself from the bench, which elicited a strong reaction from the chief justice. CJP Bandial emphasized that the post of chief justice is constitutional and stated that the judiciary is not subservient to the government. He further expressed disappointment over the government’s decision to hastily enact legislation regulating the powers of the chief justice.
The formation of the judicial commission came after the government appointed a high-powered judicial commission, headed by Supreme Court Senior Puisne Judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa, to investigate the audio Instances of leaks about both past and present members of the judiciary. The commission, which also includes Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Islamabad High Court CJ Aamer Farooq as members, has been given a timeframe of 30 days to complete the inquiry.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan challenged the formation of the three-member judicial commission on audio leaks, questioning the omission of terms of reference (TORs Babar Awan, a lawyer and party leader associated with Khan, submitted a petition urging the court to invalidate the notification for establishing the commission. Abid Shah Zubairi also raised objections to the audio leaks commission and was instructed to present himself before the panel for the investigation.
According to Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, the government did not seek the opinion of CJP Bandial before creating the commission.
The commission has also summoned four individuals connected to the alleged audio leaks for questioning, including Abid Shah Zubairi, Advocate Khawaja Tariq Rahim, journalist Abdul Qayyum Siddiqui, and Najam Saqib, son of former CJP Saqib Nisar.
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The judicial panel aims to address concerns regarding the independence, impartiality, and uprightness of the Chief Justices and Judges of the Superior Courts in the administration of justice. The commission has pledged to make the proceedings of its inquiry public.
