ISLAMABAD: As the Supreme Court resumes hearing on Tuesday (today) of a case relating to alleged meddling by spy agencies in judicial affairs, more petitions are pouring in one after another with a request to become a party in the matter.

On Monday, Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) Presi­dent Rehan Aziz Malik requested the top court to declare that it was imperative for all state institutions to refrain from overstepping their rightful boundaries and that they must consistently operate and abide by legal framework and principles enshrined in the Constitution.

Headed by Chief Justice of Pa­­kistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, a six-judge SC bench will resume hearing of the case it instituted on a suo motu. Other ben­ch members include Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Jamal Khan Mando­khail, Athar Minallah, Musarrat Hilali and Naeem Akhtar Afghan. Justice Yahya Afridi has already recused himself from the bench.

The Supreme Court has alrea­­dy clubbed a set of 10 petitions and applications seeking its intervention in response to allegations of “intelligence agencies’ meddling in judicial affairs”, which were highlighted in a March 25 letter written to the Supreme Judicial Council by six Islamabad High Court judges.

SHCBA seeks order for state institutions to work within designated lawful domain

The fresh petitions requested the Supreme Court to declare that vesting prerogative to constitute benches and mark cases to the unilateral and unstructured discretion of the chief justices of high courts harms both the external and internal independence of judiciary and violates Articles 10-A, 175, 192 and 202 of the Constitution.

The SHCBA pleaded before the apex court to declare that principles of good governance and the rule of law command that all state institutions must operate within their designated lawful domain.

“They should adhere to the parameters set by the law and the Constitution, ensuring that their actions and behaviour remain within the boundaries established by these legal frameworks. This commitment to upholding the law and respecting the Constitution is vital for the proper functioning of state institutions and for maintaining a just and democratic society,” it argued.

The petition said the high courts should be directed to hold full court meetings and ascertain whether any judges of the respective courts or of courts subordinate to them have similar complaints and to report the same to the Supreme Court.

It requested the apex court to pass orders to safeguard the independence of judiciary and protect it from such intrusions in future and for initiation of appropriate proceedings against any officers or persons responsible, whether through acts of commission or omission.

The petition said the high courts should frame appropriate rules and guidelines on the administrative side detailing how any complaints by judges or staff of the high courts and subordinate courts of external interference in judicial or court-related functions should be reported and how they were to be redressed and, insofar as judges and staff of this court were concerned.

The petition sought a directive for the SC registrar to place proposals in this regard for the consideration of the full court as well as order the federal government to devise appropriate mechani­s­­ms for effective scrutiny and oversight over the functioning of intelligence agencies to ensure they do not transgress their lawful dom­ain and to ensure that int­elligence agencies are duly regulated through requisite legislation.

Another petition filed on Monday requested the Supreme Court to form an inquiry commission comprising three top court judges to probe the contents and context of the IHC judges’ letter.

Advocate Khudayar Mohla, the petitioner, invoked the SC jurisdiction under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution, making the federal government through prime minister, secretaries of the cabinet division and ministries of law and justice and interior as respondents in the matter.

“This court may constitute an inquiry commission consisting of at least three honourable judges of this court to thoroughly inquire and investigate the matter and contents of the letter of March 25, 2024, written by six learned judges of the IHC to fix responsibility of persons in their official status who had indulged in interfering judicial working of the said learned judges to close backdoor of interference by any executive authority or intelligence agency, etc., in the interest of justice and independence of the judiciary,” said the petition filed through counsel Dr G.M. Chaudhry.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2024