ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa has said judges have no issue with fair comments or even criticism on judgements rendered by courts, but one gets dismayed to note superior court judges being censured over ‘frivolous’ allegations without any foundations.

CJP Isa made these remarks while speaking at a full-court reference, hosted in honour of Justice Sardar Tariq Masood on his reaching superannuation, on Friday.

He said some judges believed it could be construed as violation of their code of conduct if they would respond to unfounded allegations levelled against them on social media.

He cited an instance when a complaint was filed against Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and since he could not explain his position [for the same reason], he insisted that the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) take up the matter. The allegations had been widely circulated on social media whereas it seemed nobody was ready to hear his side of the story, he said.

When the allegations were later taken up and a notice was issued to the complainant for the proceedings, the complainant never turned up despite the fact that he was very eager with his social media campaign against Justice Masood and the accusations were later found to be “completely frivolous”, the CJP deplored.

He said this incident prompted addition of another provision to Article V of the Code of Conduct for Judges. “We thought there was nothing wrong if the judge issues a clarification to the allegations, though some judges believed it could be construed as violation of the code of conduct. Therefore, the SJC decided to amend the Code of Conduct by allowing judges to respond to an allegation if it is publicised,” Justice Isa recalled.

The CJP described the duties of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) that examines the conduct of superior judges as a painful but necessary task. “It is a painful task since we have to look into the conduct of those with whom we have worked and have known,” he observed, adding that a number of complaints against judges had been accumulated and quite a few of them were frivolous.

Mentioning difficulties in convening SJC meetings, the chief justice explained it was an onerous duty as apart from three SC judges, two chief justices of high courts have to come to Islamabad, leaving their work aside that also cost time and moey.

About the presidential reference seeking SC’s opinion on ex-premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s murder trial, the CJP said one of the reasons behind fixing the reference was that no one would be as great an asset to ascertain the ins and outs and complexities of the criminal trial as Justice Masood who would not be with the court for long.

He said he also wanted the benefit of Justice Masood’s elucidation of criminal principles and thus the court attended to the reference and came out with an opinion under SC’s advisory jurisdiction, the CJP explained.

While highlighting the behind-the-scenes role played by Justice Masood to ensure general elections are not derailed, the CJP said that after the announcement of the Feb 8 general elections, the Lahore High Court (LHC) passed an order on some petitions against the holding of elections.

This situation could have effectively derailed the general elections, making it impossible for elections to be held as per schedule given by the Election Commission of Pakistan and approved by the president.

At that time, the CJP recalled, he had not availed his holidays for a long time and was about to visit his ailing sister when he learnt about the development. Since the next day was a holiday, a meeting had to be convened immediately.

Subsequently, Attorney Gen­eral for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan was called and the matter was attended to by convening the court in the evening on Dec 16, he explained.

However, one of the three senior judges of the apex court available at that time declined to join the deliberations, he recalled, adding that the next senior judge, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, was requested to be on the bench and subsequently an order was passed with the able assistance of the colleagues at midnight, thus, preventing the derailment of the democratic process.

CJP Isa also recalled that Justice Masood was heading a six-judge bench that had taken up the Intra-Court Appeals (ICA) against the Oct 23, 2023, short order, which had declared the trial of 103 civilians by military courts in relation to their alleged role in attacks on military installations ‘unconstitutional’.

When an objection was raised seeking Justice Masood’s recusal from the bench, just because he had given “a very fair observation” that if the matter was heard by a nine-judge bench, the affected party would lose the right to appeal, the judge without any hesitation opted out of the bench, the chief justice said. He said he believed the appellants did not choose wisely, otherwise, they could have the benefit of a very compassionate hearing.

In addition to his work as a judge, Justice Masood was also a valuable member of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, he said.

The commission would soon consider the rules, which had not been approved, and fill the vacant offices of judges, the CJP said.

He also hinted at the establishment of a separate secretariat with a separate JCP secretary, as court registrar becomes overburdened, with the result that other matters get sidetracked.

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2024