Judge appointed for manhandling probe: ‘No authority can dare harm SC’
By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, March 20: Acting Chief Justice Mr Justice Javed Iqbal said on Tuesday that no authority in Pakistan could dare harm the Supreme Court, adding this had not happened in the past nor would it be allowed to happen in future.
The ACJ made the observation while appointing senior high court judges to head two committees to inquire into three incidents — police manhandling of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, police baton charge on a lawyers’ convention in Lahore and police action against journalists.
Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan of the Peshawar High Court has been asked to complete an inquiry in a week into the police manhandling of the “suspended” Chief Justice, fix responsibility, ascertain causes and suggest means to avoid recurrence of such incidents.The ACJ ordered the Inspector-General of Islamabad Police, Chaudhry Iftikhar, to submit details of the security plan for the day the Chief Justice had been roughed up by police after his refusal to go to the Supreme Court in an official car.
The IG will also provide details of deployment of police officers with their names to the Registrar of the Supreme Court and the Deputy Attorney-General.
The court observed that a police inquiry into the manhandling of the non-functional chief justice would be of no value, and said that the manhandling of Justice Chaudhry was an unusual and unprecedented incident.
"We want to make sure that such shocking and alarming incident is not repeated in future," the ACJ observed.
"It's not the question of an individual; it is the question of dignity of the Supreme Court of Pakistan," Justice Javed Iqbal said.
Deputy Attorney-General Raja Irshad, who appeared in place of the attorney-general, requested the bench to order an inquiry by a Supreme Court judge.
The ACJ reminded the deputy attorney-general that the SC was also an affected party in the matter. He, however, said that the inquiry would be held in a fair and transparent manner.
Taking up Advocate Athar Minallah’s application relating to the Lahore police baton charge on journalists and lawyers during a convention in the Lahore High Court premises, the ACJ nominated Justice Syed Zahid Hussain of the Lahore High Court to identify and fix responsibility on police officers who had carried out the brutal action against lawyers and journalists.
The ACJ deplored the way the police had beaten up the protesting lawyers and said it seemed that they (the lawyers) were not from this country.
"Such things even never happen in countries like Ethiopia or Uganda. Alas! This all has happened in `Parha, Likha Punjab’! The peaceful protest is the democratic right of everybody,” the ACJ observed.
He stressed the need for setting some parameters for demonstrators, saying that protests should not affect the ordinary man.
He asked lawyers to stage protests in a way that did not harm the interest of justice and litigants who were badly affected by their strikes.
Justice Iqbal said that action against police would begin from top level and SHOs or ASI would not be made scapegoats because seniors should be blamed for the faulty handling of the situation.
“Heaven would not have fallen had lawyers been allowed to complete their convention inside the Lahore High Court premises,” he said, adding that even armed personnel carriers had been seen parked outside the venue of the meeting.
Complainant Athar Minallah said that the police action on Saturday had crossed all limits, contrary to norms of a civilised society, alleging that the police personnel were even seen chanting slogans in favour of the ruling party.
Punjab Advocate-General Chaudhry Aftab Iqbal informed the court that the police had to resort to severe action because some miscreants had infiltrated among lawyers.
On a request of the Punjab Union of Journalist, the ACJ observed that the authorities should differentiate between a mob and journalists.
