ISLAMABAD: One day before the scheduled hearing to challenge the presidential reference against Judge Qazi Faez Isa, a second request for postponement of the case was filed on Monday on behalf of lead attorney Muneer A. Malik.
The Supreme Court had constituted a bank of 10 judges last week to resume the hearing on a series of challenges to the presidential reference against Judge Isa. The hearing will begin on Tuesday (today).
Directed by Judge Umar Ata Bandial, the bank is composed of Judge Maqbool Baqar, Judge Manzoor Ahmad Malik, Judge Faisal Arab, Judge Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Judge Sajjad Ali Shah, Judge Syed Mansoor Ali Shah in Case that the judge is available, Judge Munib Akhtar, Judge Yahya Afridi and Judge Qazi Muhammad Amin.
The higher court is occupied with nine petitions filed by Judge Isa, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), Abid Hasan Minto, Abdul Basit, who heads the Bar Association of the Superior Court, Quetta, Muhammad Asif Reki, the President of the Quetta Bar Association, the Sindh High Court Bar Association, the Balochistan Bar Council and the Sindh Bar Council.
Attorney Malik filed an application on September 19 with a request to approve his plea for general deferral from September 23 to October 4. But the Supreme Court office informed him that, although his request had been authorized by the President of the Supreme Court Asif Saeed Khosa, the postponement will not be applied as of September 24, the day the court of 10 judges takes the reference.
Mohammad Kassim Mirjet, a registered defense lawyer, filed another request on Monday to inform the court that lawyer Malik had suffered a heart attack on September 18. Two stents were implanted in his arteries, the application said, adding that doctors had advised him two weeks of complete rest.
In addition, according to the single page request, the president of the Supreme Court had approved Attorney Malik's request for a general postponement of 12 days.
The applicant admitted that the granting of a general deferral does not cover the court cases before the largest bank, but prayed to the court to consider postponing the case due to medical circumstances.
Even otherwise, he recalled the request, the higher court had previously ordered the constitution of the entire court to hear the set of challenges and other related matters, but now the applicant learned that one of the judges, Judge Syed Mansoor Ali Shah , which was also part of the largest bank, was not available to join the full court.
The reason, according to the request, was the absence of Judge Shah of Pakistan until October 28. Therefore, the suspension of the matter until the judge returns home will be in order.
The entire court is likely to take the new request when the hearing begins.
Meanwhile, the number of challenges to the reference against Judge Isa increased to 10 after Hafiz Abdul Rehman, former vice president of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), filed a similar request through his lawyer, Taufiq Asif.
The petitioner expressed his fear that the overthrow of Justice Isa, who wrote the February 6 ruling against Faizabad Dharna (sitting) in November 2017 by Tehrik Labaik Pakistan (TLP), would prevent him from hearing a set of requests for review Against the verdict.
The petition argued that the Faizabad verdict had created a rage among political circles in view of comments that security agencies should remain within their constitutional mandate.
The petition was declared in court to declare that the presidential reference against Judge Isa was presented for "collateral purposes" and bad and discriminatory law.
He also requested the higher court to restrict the SJC from new procedures with an address to amend the SJC Investigation Procedure to ensure greater transparency in the functioning of the council.
The petition held that the code of conduct for judges cannot be interpreted in a way that completely restricts their rights under articles 19 and 19-A of the constitution.
The petitioner requested the superior court to declare that SJC was not competent to declare that an asset that was otherwise in the name of a person was Benami without making that person part of the process.
Posted on Dawn, September 24, 2019
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1507016/justice-isas-counsel-again-seeks-adjournment-of-sc-hearing