- The SC stops the commission’s investigation into audio leaks.
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has issued a stay order on the proceedings of a high-powered judicial commission responsible for investigating audio leaks related to the judiciary. The court has also suspended the federal government’s notification regarding the commission’s establishment. This decision was made by a five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justices Ijaz ul Ahsan, Munib Akhtar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Shahid Waheed. The order came in response to separate petitions filed by various parties, including the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and PTI Chairman Imran Khan, challenging the legality of the commission’s formation.
The court acknowledged that the commission had already begun functioning and had planned to make its proceedings public on May 22, with the next meeting scheduled for May 27. However, considering the circumstances, the court suspended the federal government’s notification and stayed the commission’s proceedings until the next date of hearing.
Last week, the federal government had formed a three-member judicial commission, headed by Supreme Court Justice Qazi Faez Isa, to investigate the authenticity of recent audio leaks and their impact on the independence of the judiciary. The commission comprised Chief Justices Aamer Farooq from the Islamabad High Court and Naeem Akhtar Afghan from the Balochistan High Court. The government justified the commission’s formation under the Pakistan Commissions of the Inquiry Act, 2017, citing concerns about the independence of the judiciary raised by the audio leaks.
During the hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan requested Chief Justice Bandial to recuse himself from the case and leave it to the next senior-most judge. However, the Chief Justice rejected the request, asserting the judiciary’s independence from the government and emphasizing the constitutional role of the Chief Justice. He also expressed disappointment with the government’s hasty decision to enact legislation regulating the Chief Justice’s powers and questioned the formation of the judicial panel without his consultation.
The judicial commission was formed to investigate several audio leaks, including conversations involving a former Punjab chief minister and an advocate, a former chief justice of Pakistan and a senior lawyer, and a lawyer and a journalist discussing the outcome of a case. Other leaked conversations involve former Prime Minister Imran Khan and a party colleague, as well as family members discussing Supreme Court cases and political roles.
The Supreme Court’s stay order has temporarily halted the proceedings of the judicial commission, pending further legal deliberations on the legality of its establishment.
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