ISLAMABAD: A petition was moved before the Supreme Court on Thursday to seek “enactment or amendments in relevant laws to rein in” the intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

Any proposed law should hold the intelligence agencies accountable for issuing any direction or narrative that amounts to interference in the independence and impartial working of the judiciary, says the petition moved by the additional secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Sardar Shahbaz Ali Khan Khosa.

The additional secretary of the SCBA has filed the petition following a perceived delay on the part of the association in submitting its suggestions to the Supreme Court, which was dealing with a case regarding a March 25 letter by six Islam­abad High Court (IHC) judges accusing intelligence agencies of meddling in judicial affairs.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to resume the hearing on April 30, and in its last order, it had expected responses from the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), SCBA, and high courts by April 25.

The fresh petition contended that during the hearing, the Supreme Court should impose penal consequences and punishments against persons or authorities found to be issuing illegal orders that amount to meddling in judicial matters.

The petition argued that an open inquiry, probe, or investigation involving all stakeholders — the victim high court judges, members of all bar councils, bar associations, and the general public — should be initiated before the full court of the Supreme Court, and the delinquents should be strictly punished in accordance with the law for violating the Constitution, laws, and interfering in judicial matters.

The petition contended that the chief justices of the high courts should be requested to suitably amend their respective rules in exercise of their powers under Article 202 and 203 of the Constitution to make it mandatory for judges of subordinate court, high court and Supreme Court, as the case may be, to promptly inform if any attempt was made by any person or department or official to influence any proceedings before them to chief justices of high courts, chief justice of Pakistan and Supreme Judicial Council within seven days of any such interference.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2024