[🇵🇰] The Supreme Court of Pakistan in News

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KP CM hopeful Ali Amin Gandapur urges authorities to ‘rectify’ election results​

PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur, who is the party’s candidate for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister slot, has requested the concerned authorities to rectify the election results.

Addressing a rally in Peshawar, he said the winners should be declared according to the Form 45s received from polling stations.

“Those candidates that are backed by Imran Khan should be declared as winners,” Gandapur said. “Only that government should be formed in this country who the people voted for.”

 

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PTI’s Hamid Khan calls for judicial inquiry into Rawalpindi commissioner’s claim regarding rigging​

PTI lawyer Hamid Khan has called for a nationwide judicial inquiry into the Rawalpindi commissioner’s revelations about the manipulation of election results.

Speaking to Geo News today, Khan said the commissioner’s revelations confirmed the rigging allegations allegedly carried out during the Feb 8 polls.

“Importance should be given to this,” he added. “Now that an important person from the government machinery is saying this, it provides confirmation.”

The PTI leader also hinted that he thinks the conscience of other officers would also force them to speak up after the Rawalpindi commissioner’s revelations.

 

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PTI’s Hamid Khan says Chatha’s statement should be given importance, everyone already knows elections were rigged​

PTI leader Hamid Khan has said that importance should be given to the statement given by the Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chatha given that everyone already knows rigging has taken place.

“If someone from the government’s machinery [says so], that is a confirmation of it,” Khan said, adding that he thinks other people will come out accordingly.

“Such historic rigging, there were attempts to compare it to the 2018 elections, which also had some attempts of rigging, but there is no precedent for such rigging in our history,” he said.
He said it is “ridiculous” to assert that the commissioner does not have a role when it comes to the elections.

“The reason for it is the Deputy Commissioner, who is the DRO, so how come the DRO’s boss does not have a role,” he said.

 

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SC comes down hard on IG Islamabad in journalists’ harassment case​

Apex court rejects reports submitted by FIA and police; instructs to submit detailed reports again

Our Correspondent
March 11, 2024

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa expressed serious displeasure at Islamabad IG Akbar Nasir Khan on Monday as the apex court heard the matter concerning the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) harassment of journalists accused of an anti-judiciary campaign.

Irked over the police's failure to arrest individuals involved in the abduction of journalist Matiullah Jan in 2020, the CJP while addressing Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan said, "A crime was recorded on camera, but you could not trace those responsible for it?”

“Mr AGP, what kind of an IG is this? He should be removed,” CJP Isa asserted.

The chief justice asked the Islamabad IG how much more time was needed to arrest the abductors if four years were not enough. "Do you need four centuries?" he asked, warning the IG that the whole country had its eyes on his performance.

"It appears from your performance that you are playing the role of a facilitator. Shoot one journalist, torture, or pick up another," the CJP stated, criticising how cameras installed under the Safe City project also stop working during such incidents.

A lawyer in the courtroom then informed the SC that journalist Asad Toor was currently in jail with an FIR lodged against him.

The chief justice asked the FIA officer how the provisions under which Toor was booked were justified. “Does the FIA have any well-educated individual within its ranks?”, the CJP asked, suggesting the institution get someone to translate the law in Urdu otherwise.

“Did we [the judiciary] complain to you against any journalist? Did you issue notices to journalists in our names? Are you using us to get your work done?” the chief justice asked.

Journalist Asad Toor has been booked under some serious provisions, he said. “How do the provisions, including those about sensitive information, apply here?” CJP Isa further asked, taking the FIA officer to task over not even mentioning the anti-judiciary campaign in the FIR when the summons issued to Toor were regarding running a campaign against the judiciary. "You have used the judiciary to get your work done," the chief justice asserted.

Barrister Salahuddin informed the court that the JIT to probe the allegations against the journalists was formed before the registration of the cases. He prayed to the court to declare the JIT notification null and void.



The chief justice then inquired why an officer from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was part of the JIT, as the intelligence agency is not a law enforcement agency and it is also not the jurisdiction of the agency.

Salahuddin further argued that the FIA cannot take action against the journalists under PECA, as only Section 20 of the act deals with such allegations, however, the complainant in such cases should be a 'natural person'.

The AGP also agreed with the barrister's arguments and concurred that certain sections of PECA did not apply to the FIR.

The allegations levelled by former commissioner Rawalpindi Liaquat Ali Chattha on February 17 regarding the election commission and CJP colluding to rig February 8 general elections also came under discussion during the hearing.

CJP Isa stated that a commissioner accused him of rigging the elections and the statement was broadcast by all the TV channels without any verification. He added that it is common practice globally that a news piece is first verified before being aired. “No journalist asked the accuser what proof he had. Does this happen anywhere in the world?” the CJP asked. “However, should the judiciary have issued notices to all the TV channels?” he rhetorically asked.

He again warned the investigative agency to not “use” the judiciary. “A person threatened to kill me, but the SHO sat on the application for five days. I was then told that I will be informed of the progress on the matter after instructions are taken from the minister," the CJP said, further adding that a false report was submitted in the SC in the Matiullah Jan abduction case. “Are the number plates of vehicles in which the kidnappers come not visible?” CJP Isa asked.

Barrister Salahuddin then argued that the FIA initiated 115 inquiries and issued 65 notices. "Laws for defamation and contempt of court are in place and if the FIA takes over the rights of the judiciary, they will be misused."

Rejecting the reports submitted in the case by the FIA and the police, the apex court instructed both to submit detailed reports on the matter and adjourned the hearing till March 25.

Imran Riaz, Asad Toor's arrest

Renowned vloggers Imran Riaz Khan and Asad Toor were last month issued notices by the FIA's cyber crime wing to appear at their offices in Lahore and Islamabad respectively. The former was later arrested under anti-corruption and anti-terrorism charges. He was granted bail in the anti-terrorism case two days ago but remains behind bars in the corruption case.

A staunch critic of last year's coalition government, also the incumbent government, for ousting PTI founding chairman Imran Khan as premier, Imran was forcibly abducted last year and remained missing for at least four months.

Toor, on the other hand, was booked and arrested on charges of running an anti-judiciary campaign on social media under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016. He is still behind bars.

 

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[H2]SC urged to regulate high court chief justices' power[/H2]
The Newspaper's
April 20, 2024

LAHORE: The Supreme Court has been requested to regulate the discretionary powers of all provincial high courts' chief justices to curb the alleged misuse of authority in the judiciary.

"The outgoing chief justices often misuse their discretionary powers like royalty," says a petition filed by a lawyer in the wake of alleged dozens of decisions made by Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti, the former chief justice of the Lahore High Court, during the last 30 days of his tenure.

The federal government, the Ministry of Law, and all provincial high courts through their registrars have been made respondents in the petition. Petitioner Mian Dawood says the former chief justice approved illegal increments for hundreds of employees of the LHC in the name of good performance.

He said from July 6, 2021, onwards, two illegal advance increments were given to the officials of the LHC. No chief justice has ever given such increments to the staff, including the registrar, for a period of over one year in judicial history, the lawyer claims. He pointed out that the former chief justice granted four-year paid educational leave to the reader (the court associate) of his court.

He said the reader's spouse, who is a senior civil judge, was also extended the same favor without any record of university enrollment or law department requisition. The petitioner alleged that over 50 notifications were issued in a day to end the penalties of as many employees of the LHC.
He argued that withdrawing any penalty under the discretionary powers is tantamount to disbanding the service tribunals established under the law.

He said that the former chief justice not only withdrew the penalties of two deputy registrars of the LHC but also granted them advance increments and promotions.

He said the former chief justice issued most of the notifications a day before his retirement on March 6. He said the discretionary powers should not be exercised by an individual (chief justice) rather administrative committees of the high courts be given the powers. He asked the apex court to regulate the discretionary powers of all high courts' chief justices and set aside the notifications issued by the former chief justice of the LHC by 'misusing' his discretion.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2024

 

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[H2]SC finds flaws in police investigation techniques[/H2]
Nasir Iqbal
April 27, 2024

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday emphasised the need for making concerted efforts on part of the police force to shift its investigation techniques by introducing and relying on forensic science and accordingly train specialised officers in this field.

"The cornerstone of criminal justice system is the effective functionality of the investigating agency and prosecution since a faulty investigative process will continuously dampen trust and confidence in the criminal justice system," observed Justice Ayesha A. Malik in a judgement she wrote.

Justice Malik was a member of a three-judge SC bench, headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, which had taken up an appeal by Mohammad Ramzan against the July 4, 2013 Lahore High Court order acquitting Khizar Hayat of murder charges by not confirming the death sentence awarded to the accused.

On April 28, 2009, then Khushab additional sessions judge had awarded death sentence to Khizar Hayat for murdering Mohammad Hayat. The accused challenged his conviction and got acquittal by the high court.

Suggests reliance on forensic science to improve prosecution; upholds LHC order acquitting murder accused

"Time has come for the investigation agency to recognise inherent flaws and concerns in its methodology and it needs to work towards specialising its investigative functions by separating the same from other police duties," emphasised Justice Malik in her judgement.

She observed that the entire case of the prosecution relied on the ocular accounts which were fraught with material contradictions uncorroborated by available evidence. Moreover, she said, the presence of witnesses at the crime scene was highly doubtful and questionable.

The principle of fair trial and due process under Article 10A of the Constitution, Justice Malik emphasised, specifically mandated that the accused be equitably treated, investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the law.

"But in the case at hand, it was revealed that the entire prosecution evidence was marred by inherent improbabilities and material defects, aside from concerns about the credibility of the witnesses," the judgement regretted.

"It is the duty of the prosecution to establish the guilt against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt," it said, adding that the facts and circumstances of the present case clearly cast a shadow of doubt on the prosecution's case, which had failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt, which entitled him to the presumption of innocence by law.

"It is essential to emphasise the importance of forensic science in the criminal justice system," the judgement said, adding that forensic dealt with 'the application of scientific techniques to provide objective, circumstantial evidence'.

"Forensic is a science 'of interest to the legal system' whose objective is to ascertain what happened in the recent past. Forensic science means nothing more than the science which is used in the courts of law for the purposes of detection and prosecution of crime," the judgement recalled.

"This science plays a significant role in the criminal justice system by providing data that can be used to assess the degree of guilt of a suspect."

In the present case, the judgement said, the prosecution had not established the motive, adding that the high court's view was correct in which it stated that in the absence of any corroborating evidence, it did not appear to be a sound and reasonable motive as stated by the prosecution for the commission of the offence.

The apex court dismissed the present criminal petition with an observation that the findings rendered by the LHC did not suffer from any flaw or error.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2024

 

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The Supreme Court has set aside the Peshawar High Court's (PHC) decision to annul out-of-turn promotions in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Police.

A three-member bench, led by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and including Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah, also ordered the Provincial Services Tribunal to decide the matter within a month in accordance with the Supreme Court's decision and the province's 2005 law.

Individuals affected by the tribunal's decision are instructed to appeal within a month through authorized forums. During the hearing, the bench noted that the proper forum for filing appeals against government department decisions is the services tribunal, not the high court.

During the hearing, Justice Athar Minallah highlighted the sacrifices of the K-P police in the fight against terrorism, stating that they should be respected for their sacrifices.

Justice Minallah remarked, "The sacrifices of the K-P police officers are unparalleled; morale-boosting measures for the police are also necessary."

The lawyer representing the petitioners asserted that the case of Punjab and Sindh police is different from that of the K-P. In the K-P, the law allows out-of-turn promotions directly.

He said the provincial chief secretary revoked the law of 2005 under which out-of-turn promotions were permitted. "The law enacted by the provincial assembly cannot be withdrawn by the chief secretary; whether a law should be enacted or not is a decision of the assembly and the government," he said.



Justice Mansoor Ali Shah stated that we are nullifying the decision of the dismissals and sending the matter back to the competent authority.

"The competent authority should make a fresh decision in light of the provincial law and the Supreme Court's rulings, and those affected by the decision should approach the competent forum."

Both parties agreed with the court's remarks, upon which the court referred the matter to the competent authority for a fresh decision.

Utility bills case

Separately, the SC on Monday also suspended a Sindh High Court (SHC) decision upholding imposition of additional taxes on charity organizations, private hospitals, and clinics in electricity and gas bills.

Led by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, a three-member bench heard appeals from charity organizations and private hospitals and clinics against the decision to impose sales and other additional taxes on their electricity and gas bills.

During the hearing, representatives of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) requested for a delay and informed the court that a new tax policy could be implemented within a month.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah stated that the court would suspend the decision and schedule the hearing for the second week of June. He said in June the case would be heard on a daily basis, and no request for postponement would be accepted.

"In the event of a delay request, the decision of the high court would be reinstated," he said. A petitioner had challenged the SHC's August 23, 2023 verdict in the Supreme Court through Jahanzeb Awan Advocate.

 

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Muhammad Umair
@MohUmair87

میرے سامنے کوئی مداخلت نہیں ہوئی۔ جسٹس قاضی فائز عیسی
مداخلت آج بھی ہورہی۔ جسٹس اطہر من اللہ​

................
There was no interference in front of me.....Justice Qazi Faiz Isa

The interference is still happening today.....Justice Athar Minullah