ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali on Thursday reserved a ruling on an appeal about entertainability of a petition seeking activation of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and making public the number of references against superior court judges the council is seized with.

In a chamber hearing, the chief justice told petitioner Advocate Raheel Kamran Sheikh that he would issue an order on the appeal moved against the May 6 order of the registrar office to return the petition when the petitioner said that the chief justice should not hear the appeal since he also acted as chairman of the SJC.

The council has been established under Article 209 of the Constitution to inquire into allegations against judges of the Supreme Court and high courts about their “misconduct” or inability to perform their duties for reasons of mental or physical incapacity.

Under Article 209(8), the SJC also issues a code of conduct to ensure that judges of the superior judiciary operate at the highest moral and ethical standards so that all citizens have access to justice from independent and impartial courts, as envisaged by the Constitution.

The petitioner told Dawn that the chief justice, during the hearing, asked how the SJC could disclose information about its proceedings, which were always held in camera.

Mr Sheikh replied that he was not seeking information pertaining to a proceeding against a judge. But, he said, every citizen had a fundamental right to have access to information in matters of public importance as guaranteed by Article 19A of the Constitution. Therefore, basic information regarding the total number of references pending with the council should be disclosed.

In his petition, Mr Sheikh has said that the SJC has barely been functional since its establishment. It may be in public interest to withhold information about the nature of any particular complaint to avoid scandalising a judge as long as he serves on the bench, but there is no justification for withholding information regarding the number of complaints received by the council.

Both the bar and the bench have voiced concerns about the state of affairs, the petition says. For example, the Pakistan Bar Council at a meeting on June 13 last year adopted a resolution requesting the SJC to decide pending references on the basis of merit and without any further delay.

Even the incumbent chief justice, in his address to lawyers, has declared his intention of expeditiously hearing and disposing of references pending before the council, it says.

But till date no new information has been disclosed about the status of a reference/complaint decided by the council, except the remarks of the chief justice in his Nov 30, 2015, address to the Islamabad Bar Council.

To ensure independence of the judiciary, it is a prerequisite that judges are able to make judicial pronouncements without fear or favour. But a judge against whom a reference or complaint has been filed may be amenable to pressure and exploitation and, therefore, he can readily compromise his integrity, impartiality and independence, the petition argues.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2016