6-member SC bench resumes listening to spy companies’ interference case

A six-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, is conducting the listening to.

On March 25, six judges of IHC had demanded CJP Isa to convene a judicial conference to think about the matter of alleged interference of intelligence operatives within the judicial features or “intimidation” of judges in a fashion that undermined the independence of the judiciary.

The six IHC judges — Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, Justice Tariq Mahmood Jehangiri, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Justice Saman Rifat Imtiaz — had written a letter to the chief justice, who can be chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).

Searching for steerage from the council on “interference” of the spy companies in courts’ affairs, the judges wrote: “We’re writing to hunt steerage from the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) with regard to the responsibility of a choose to report and reply to actions on a part of members of the manager, together with operatives of intelligence companies, that search to intrude with discharge of his/her official features and qualify as intimidation, in addition to the responsibility to report any such actions that come to his/her consideration in relation to colleagues and/or members of the courts that the Excessive Courtroom supervises.”

Subsequently, the Supreme Courtroom on April 1 took suo motu discover of the IHC judges’ letter and shaped a seven-member bench led by CJP Isa to listen to the matter.