Supreme Court judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa in a fresh petition on Monday accused the country’s top judge, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, of being biased against him.
Justice Isa, in his petition, contended that the SJC expressed bias against him in its verdict on Reference 427 (a second petition) and has therefore lost its credibility to give him a fair hearing. “The language used by the chief justice [of Pakistan] in the [Supreme Judicial] Council’s order sadly demonstrates his lordship’s bias and prejudice towards him [Justice Isa],” the plea states.
It also says that Justice Isa had nothing but respect and regard for the chief justice of Pakistan. It goes on to say, “The petitioner has always treated him [CJP] as his elder.”
It adds that Justice Isa acknowledges that he benefited from the rich experience and expertise of the CJP in criminal matters while siting and working with Justice Khosa at the Supreme Court.
“It is therefore all the more puzzling that his lordship has disrespected, disparaged, denigrated and castigated the petitioner in the strongest of terms,” it reads.
Justice Isa states that a month back before the filing of the reference against him, Justice Khosa asked him to discuss the petition against him behind the Supreme Court building.
Justice Isa petitions SC to constitute full court bench to hear reference against him
He also says that in light of the sensitivity of the matter he will disclose the conversation in-camera before the court so the top judge may contradict him if given the chance to do so.
Justice Isa also claims that intelligence agencies were deployed to monitor his family in which public funds were also misused. Moreover, he alleges that his wife’s personal data and records were also probed.
Justice Isa – who is currently facing a misconduct reference filed by the president against him in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) – requested the Supreme Court to constitute a full court bench to hear his petition against the SJC’s proceedings against him.
The SJC had, last Monday, dismissed a misconduct reference against Justice Isa filed by a petitioner who had accused the judge of acting inappropriately by writing to the president and leaking his letters to the media.
The SJC in its decision had noted that though Justice Isa had admitted the writing of three letters to the president, there was nothing to show he had also leaked them to the media.
Further, “The purpose or the contents of such letters might appear to some to be oblique or objectionable, but such letters were merely private letters not shown to be meant or intended to be read by anybody other than the addressee and those to whom they had been copied,” the verdict had read.
However, in the same verdict, Justice Khosa had contradicted a key position taken by Justice Isa in the said letters regarding his ignorance of the petition filed against him.
Justice Khosa revealed that he had, in fact, personally provided Justice Isa an opportunity to read the reference before the latter wrote to the president.
After the reference was received, “The respondent judge was […] contacted by the chief justice […] with a request to come over to the chief justice’s chamber, which the respondent judge was kind enough to do. The chief justice then informed the respondent judge about receipt of the reference from the president and asked him to read the same for his information. The respondent judge then sat down and read the entire reference and took his time in doing so.”
While reading the allegations against him, Justice Isa had asked for a paper and pencil for taking notes, which were supplied to him by the chief justice personally, according to the judgement.
