PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has taken notice of the incidents of army personnel stopping its judges, including the chief justice, at check posts in the province and summoned the defence and interior secretaries and provincial home secretary on October 6 to explain position on the matter.

Also, the secretaries were told to file separate explanation.

On Sunday, the army personnel had allegedly stopped Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel, who was travelling with a police escort, at a picket near Kohat Tunnel and allowed him to move on after quite some time.

Also, similar incidents involving judges were reported in the province.

A high court bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth on Monday expressed concern about the ‘recurrent interference by the army personnel deputed at check posts in the free movement of the chief justice and judges in the province’ and summoned the relevant officers.

While fixing Oct 6 for next hearing, the bench directed advocate general Abdul Lateef Yousafzai and deputy attorney general Manzoor Khalil to file replies on behalf of the respective offices.

Summons defence, interior secretaries, provincial home secretary to explain position

It also directed them to produce the relevant record pertaining to justification of installation and working of army pickets in the province particularly in Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Kohat and Swat districts.

The chief justice took suo motu contempt notice of the issue involving a series of incidents, which happened in close succession, about the army personnel deployed at check posts ‘halting’ the free movement of the chief justice and judges and even ‘misbehaving’ with them though the latter shared their travel plans with the military authorities in advance.

The bench quoted the incidents including the latest occurred with the chief justice on Sept 27 at the army picket near Kohat Tunnel, when he was returning to Peshawar from DI Khan.

The Chief Justice took exception to the issue and observed: “interference in the movement of the Judges of the higher Judiciary of the province smells malice and mala fide on part of the Army Personnel, and suggests that such conduct is aimed at degrading authority of the high court and its judges.”

The order, handed down by the Bench, states: “we have noted it with great concern that by such acts the dignity of this Court and it’s judges as well is being lowered in the eyes of public in a contemptuous manner, which amounts to a naked contempt of this court and the relevant persons behind it are liable to be dealt-with in accordance with law.”

It added that in the province, there were numerous army deputed check posts raised on main roads which caused enormous inconvenience to commuters.

“The elderly, women folk and serious patients are the worst sufferers of the checking ordeal at such check posts,” the court observed, adding that the judges of the superior judiciary of the land have the privilege of immunity from their personal search but they are not taken as an exception, and have faced many times embarrassment at the army check posts.

On May 27, a judge of the high court, Justice Ikramullah Khan, was on way to Bannu cantonment area along with police escort vehicle.

The two vehicles were allegedly stopped by security personnel and that though a policeman, who was part of the escort, disembarked from his vehicle and introduced the judge, the security personnel insisted that the judge should show his service card.

That the incident’s footage of CCTV camera installed at the check post was also leaked and uploaded on social media.

After that incident, an additional registrar of the PHC Circuit Bench in Bannu had filed a contempt of court petition. The issue has since been pending.

Published in Dawn, September 30th , 2015

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