ISLAMABAD: As the Supreme Court resumes hearing on Tuesday petitions seeking disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for making a ‘misstatement’ in the National Assembly, a PTI leader has moved an appeal challenging the return of his application seeking withdrawal of one of the members of the bench.

In the application filed through his counsel Irfan Qadir on Oct 1, PTI leader Ishaq Khakwani had pleaded that the presiding judge, Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, should recuse himself from the three-member bench hearing the case.

The court office had turned down the request with an objection that contemptuous language had been used in the application.

The fresh appeal contended that the court office had failed to point out which part of the application was scandalous and contemptuous.

Khakwani sought Justice Khawaja’s withdrawal from bench hearing PM’s disqualification case

“In the absence of such a mention, the impugned order (registrar’s decision) is devoid of the grounds or the legal foundations on which the same could be passed in law,” the appeal said.

“I will bring to the notice of the court, when the disqualification case is taken up, about my request of recusal and moving of the appeal against the return of the application,” Irfan Qadir told Dawn.

The court office’s decision is in violation of the law because the applicant was not given the opportunity to be heard. Besides, the order is devoid of any factual or legal basis because no specific reference has been made to any contemptuous act.

In his application, the PTI leader had said that there were apprehensions against the presiding judge when the case was taken up on Sept 29 and some unpleasant remarks were exchanged between the judge and the counsel.

“It is a well-known fact that some of the judgments passed by the presiding judge had caused members of the bar to express serious reservations,” the application said, adding that the applicant was aware that he could not choose his own judge but had the right to object to a particular judge when there was a serious apprehension of not getting a fair trial.

It said the applicant hoped that the petitions would be heard by any of the judges of the apex court, except Justice Khawaja.

Published in Dawn, October 21st , 2014