ISLAMABAD, Dec 12: The first thing newly appointed Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani did after assuming his office on Thursday was to take notice of the allegation of selective coverage of the full court reference held to honour and bid farewell to outgoing CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

Chief Justice Jillani directed the Supreme Court’s additional registrar, Mohammad Ali, to hold an inquiry and submit a report.

Television journalists covering the full court reference on Wednesday held a protest after a particular media house aired the exclusive footage of the former chief justice’s speech. They accused the court administration of favouritism towards the particular channel and discrimination against the rest of the media.

The chief justice took the notice on a note sent by SC registrar Dr Faqir Hussain stating that it was widely reported in the electronic and print media that a certain media group had been given access to the Courtroom No 1.

The note said it was alleged that the Supreme Court administration had been discriminatory in its treatment of journalists by favouring one media group over others.

“In protest, the journalists covering the Supreme Court announced a boycott of the subsequent functions held in the court. The report portrays a somewhat negative perspective of the Supreme Court even though it strictly follows the policy of absolute neutrality and impartiality,” the note said.

During the court proceedings, representatives of the media reached the rostrum and invited the chief justice’s attention to Wednesday’s incident.

They said they had abided by rules when the court administration told them that TV cameras were not allowed inside the courtroom to cover the full court reference, but the footage was leaked to the particular media group. They requested the chief justice to take notice of it.

“I will take notice today,” the chief justice assured the journalists.

Meanwhile, in a clarification the SC office denied that the registrar had ever stated that the camera used to film the reference inside the courtroom was arranged by the court for the coverage.

Earlier during the court proceedings, Attorney General Muneer A. Malik congratulated Chief Justice Jillani on assuming his office and said: “On this occasion I assure you of fullest cooperation from my office and I hope you will have wonderful time during your stint.” He said his foremost obligation would be to assist the court.

The chief justice thanked the attorney general and said the court would continue to uphold its constitutional oath.

Later the chief justice presided over a full court meeting. It attended by all judges of the Supreme Court and discussed measures to address the backlog and for providing relief to litigants.

There are 20,456 cases of different categories pending in the Supreme Court and its branches in the four provinces.

The meeting decided that the office would prepare on an urgent basis subject-wise categorisation of cases, including sub-categories and lists of cases to be fixed before two or three-judge benches. The proposed cause lists will be prepared and issued a month in advance. The cases of one advocate will not be fixed simultaneously at different stations or branch registries in different cities.

The meeting also decided to discourage unnecessary adjournments.

On the suggestion of the chief justice, the judges volunteered to forgo the coming winter vacation to reduce the backlog and decided to continue hearing cases in different benches at the principal seat in Islamabad and branch registries.

At the outset, the chief justice welcomed the judges attending the full court meeting and observed that its purpose was to take stock of the performance of the apex court and discuss ways of ensuring inexpensive and expeditious dispensation of justice in line with the mandate of the constitution and to augment disposal of cases for redress of grievances of the litigants.

The judges congratulated the chief justice and reposed full confidence and trust in his leadership. They assured him of their support and cooperation in his endeavour to advance the cause of justice and strengthen the system of administration of justice for the benefit of litigants.