Exceptionally, Justice Sayyed Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi – a Supreme Court Judge, wrote an open letter addressed to the Judges in the Apex Court accusing the Chief Justice of Pakistan-Qazi Faez Isa of issues of bias.
He noted in his letter that normally he would not have decided to pen down this kind of communication since he felt obliged by the need to preserve the credibility of the system which they both served.
He warned the SJC against spreading false information about his case and wanted to clear away misconceptions. Secondly, the letter aims to shed some light on some awful facts and present evidence that he saw as an injustice in the Supreme Court.
In particular, Justice Naqvi referred to a letter dated May 3, 2023, written by Justices Qazi Faez Isa and Sardars. On this note, they demanded that immediate criminal prosecution should be launched against Justice Naqvi on grounds of a scandalous phone intercepts case, which was viewed as a fraud by itself.
It was highly uncommon for a sitting Supreme Court judge to publicly vent this kind of serious grievance. Despite focusing on internal conflicts, the letter also emphasized fairness and integrity in the judiciary system.
In his sensitive letter, Justice Naqvi asked important questions about the ability of the Chief Justice of Pakistan to clear off doubts from his name while such doubts were persisting. The lawyer directly posed a question of why the judge must be interrogated by SJC, while the chief justice is exempt from such investigation concerning his unannounced properties.
He pointed out that there was no basis in law or morality for the apparent inequality.
The said judge also criticized the “show cause” letter sent out by the SJC that had what he referred to as “serious legal, constitutional and jurisdictional errors,” all of which he highlighted to respondents in his earlier correspondence on November 10th.
Justice Naqvi stated that the later acts by the SJC in effect admitted those shortfalls including the lack of proper investigations into the claims against him as well as the prejudice and partiality of the SJC judges.
Justice Naqvi commented on how he had demanded twelve times various materials that were important for his defense, but nothing was done about it, and he expressed his dissatisfaction. He likewise indicated four occasions when he applied for the recusal of the Chairman and two members of SJC which were neither considered nor addressed.
According to Naqvi, this was a plain contravention of the fundamental rights provided under the Pak constitution for him and obstructed the course of justice in the highest court in the land. Finally, his two pleas under Article 184(3) of the Constitution were fixed to be heard by a three-judge division on December 15, 2023.
As for me, I do not oppose the constitution of the Bench, but I would like to attract your attention to a recent Note dated 11.12.2023 written by Hon. Justice Ijaz Ul-Ahsan, Supreme Court Registrar.
On Thursday afternoon December 7, it was unanimously agreed among the three-member committee that the bench would consist of judges based on their seniority except if a judge who is meant to sit on the bench refuses to be a party to the bench.
Finally, he added; “You can draw your conclusions, why the Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan set up this bench in this manner.”
Justice Naqvi said that on December 11, 30 minutes from midnight, a letter was delivered to his residence which stated that a meeting of the SJC is scheduled for Thursday, December 14 at 2: 30 PM.
For us, this is the first case when the proceedings were held after the filed petition and fixation before the bench concerning the legality of the course of the SJC sessions and the court has refused to stop said proceedings and arranged the following session.
Is Pakistan’s Supreme Court not higher and weightier compared to a biased and doubtful SJC? This does not mean that it is okay in this case or properly handling the issue. It is not.”
Moreover, he stated that SJC’s chairman is in blatant violation of fundamental rights and freedoms as guaranteed by Pakistan’s Constitution.
This on its own would be proof enough that this was hateful prejudice against the Chief Justice of Pakistan, and I would have no confidence in this process which he manages. His intentions are deliberate.
In addition, he stated, that if the reputation of my chair was greater than my reputation. Thus, this is a letter to inform all people concerned about the fact that it has nothing to do with me anymore. Now it is a matter of principle and a question of a department rather than of a person. Am I now a man without honor? Can the Supper Court in Pakistan keep silent?
