ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will take up the matter related to the filing of an anonymous complaint filed on Thu­rsday against senior puisne judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani.

The complaint, purportedly filed by the “affected” judges of the subordinate judiciary, accuses Justice Kayani of bias and favouritism, particularly towards judges who joined Islamabad’s judiciary from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Judicial sources told Dawn that the judiciary was increasingly concerned about the increasing mudslinging of judges, particularly after a letter from six IHC judges alleging interference by spy agencies in judicial matters became public in late March.

Thursday’s complaint, which lacks a signature, claimed that Justice Kayani favoured lawyers with whom he had professional associations during his tenure as a practising lawyer. Among those named is Qazi Adil Aziz, the current vice chairman of the Islamabad Bar Council.

Unsigned plea accuses Justice Kayani of bias, favouritism towards some judges

The complaint alleged that Mr Aziz, along with other former associates of Justice Kayani, was minting money as he was getting relief because of his connections with the judge.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Aziz described the complaint as frivolous.

Citing IHC’s statistics, he said the record showed that he did not get extraordinary relief from Justice Kayani, as about 80 per cent of cases fixed before him were dismissed.

An IHC judge said that filing such a complaint was tantamount to interfering in judicial affairs and undermining the judiciary’s independence. According to him, the judiciary will give a befitting response to attempts to undermine its independence.

In a Tuesday hearing of the suo motu case regarding the meddling controversy, Supreme Court judges lamented a culture of intimidation in which judges couldn’t even express their opinions openly and feared being watched all the time.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa said he would never accept any interference from any source but stressed that there had been no complaint since he took office. He wondered whether it also amounted to interference when presidents of the lower judiciary’s bar associations “force their way into the judges’ chambers”.

During the hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan read the recommendations forwarded by all four high courts.

Mr Awan also read a letter from the Peshawar High Court’s registrar highlighting that during the meeting, the high court judges complained about intelligence agencies’ direct approach to them seeking favour in political cases.

But when the matters were deci­ded impartially, judges received life threats through non-state actors from Afghanistan, the communication said, adding that the matter was discussed with the Counter-Terrorism Department but to no avail.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2024