The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial has reserved his decision on the federal government’s plea to withdraw the curative review reference filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa by the ousted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
The Supreme Court (SC) heard the federal government’s appeal for the withdrawal of its curative review petition against a court order that accepted the review petitions challenging the court’s June 19, 2020, judgment on the presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) investigated the judge’s family assets following the court’s judgment.
The registrar’s office returned a set of nine curative review petitions on May 25, 2021, filed by the PTI-led government because the petitions contained “scandalous language.” The SC office also observed that a second review petition could not be filed against a decision already given on a review petition. The RO had highlighted that the curative appeals contained many other deficiencies.
The federal government had lodged an appeal before the SC against the refusal by the RO to entertain an unheard-of legal remedy, curative review petition, in the Justice Isa case. However, on March 30, the PDM government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered the withdrawal of the curative review reference as the government decided not to pursue the matter further.
After the in-chamber hearing, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan revealed that the government has submitted that “in our constitution, there is no room for a second review or curative review.” He further explained that a second review was filed in India after a court judgment that was decided in 2002. As a result, the SC of India amended its rules and created a provision for curative review. The amendment was followed by judicial proceedings, whereas in this case, there was an objection on the administrative side by the RO, against which a remedy exists in the rules.
The AGP also declined to comment on a journalist’s question about the maintainability of a reference against a CJ according to the constitution.
Earlier this month, the country’s top security czar had said the incumbent coalition government may file references against the three SC judges, including CJP Bandial, who heard and decided on the plea against the postponement of polls in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).
Meanwhile, a complaint against four SC judges, including CJ Bandial, was filed today at the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), seeking their removal from office. In addition to the CJP, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Mazahar Ali Naqvi have been named in the complaint.
