ISLAMABAD: Against the backdrop of March 25 letter by six Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges, the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) on Thursday sought a probe for fixing liability against those responsible for undermining the independence of judiciary.

Moved through senior counsel Syed Ahmad Hassan Shah on behalf of IHCBA, a petition filed before the Supreme Court on Thursday also requested for delineating matters highlighted in the March 25 letter by six high court judges to suggest suitable recommendations for due consideration by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) that develops code of conduct for the judges.

Earlier on April 5, the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) had asked for a Judicial Commission manned by sitting judges of the Supreme Court to settle the complaints of meddling of the intelligence agencies in the judicial affairs.

Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, a seven-judge Supreme Court bench which initiated a suo motu on the issue will resume the hearing on April 30. A member of the bench Justice Yahya Afridi had already withdrawn himself from the bench.

Now the fresh petition pleaded that there was no room for any kind of interference, overt or covert, in the discharge of judicial functions by any court of law by any external element.

Intimidation or harassment of a judge of a high court or a judge of the court subordinate to it or those discharging quasi-judicial functions at a tribunal established by the law is not a fair game. It is an affront to constitutionalism and a brazen attack on the independence of judiciary, the petition argued.

The independence of judiciary, as a comprehensive constitutional construct, encompasses distinct aspects, including the independence of the judicature, as an organ of the state and independence of individual judges to decide all manner of cases before them in accordance with law.

The letter highlights grave concerns with respect to both, the petition reminded.

The multi-layered judicial structure under the Constitution is amenable to interference whatsoever, particularly from another organ of the state including the executive branch of the state as each organ must not encroach upon the constitutional domain of others.

The petition emphasized that within the established judicial hierarchy, each judge is independent and under oath to preserve, protects and defend the Constitution.

The faction motivated by vested political interests and personal gains that operate to erode public confidence in the administration of justice by spreading false information and unfairly targeting individual judges, whereby right-thinking members of the society are misguided and the lines between the rule of law and advocacy and pretence and personal benefit are blurred to undermine the independence of judiciary.

The petition emphasised the confidence on the justice system of Pakistan will erode, if the Supreme Court did not address the issues raised in the judge’s letter, adding in exercising of its original jurisdiction under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, the apex court should intervene to secure independence of judiciary by addressing important questions of law.

The petition also questioned whether the media trial of individual judges in pending cases before the courts amounts to interference in judicial work or akin to influencing or interference in conduct of fair trial or cause disparagement or develops a sense of ridicule in the mind of the public for the judiciary.

The petition contended whether due process requirements enshrined in Article 10A of the Constitution warrants probe in to instances highlighted in the letter, particularly when the federal cabinet in its meeting of March 30, 2024 has denied any involvement.

Whether the code of conduct prescribed by SJC is deficient in providing guidelines to deal with instances of influence or intimidation by the executive branch of the State including operatives of its agencies as noted in the IHC judges letter through other means.

The petition has also questioned whether Article 209 of the Constitution enables of SJC to take cognizance of the letter and initiate inquiry in respect of the instances of interference in the judicial work at the high court as well as the courts under its supervisory jurisdiction and to provide guidance to judges of the high court as well as the courts under its supervisory jurisdiction in respect of the matters specified therein.

The petition said the constitution permits intra judicature consultation ie consultation among judges of the Supreme Court as well as judges of the high court along with judges of the courts under supervision of the high court for purposes of developing a robust code of conduct of judges of all tiers of the courts in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2024