Judge Qazi Faez Isa of the Supreme Court has written to the establishment division requesting the immediate dismissal of Ishrat Ali, the chief justice’s registrar, for issuing a circular that disobeyed his ruling regarding suo motu proceedings.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial responded to the Supreme Court Registrar’s circular by stating that the observations made by the majority judgement went beyond the subject at hand and broke the rules established by a five-member decision.
The suspension of all suo motu cases under Article 184(3) of the Constitution was mandated by a special Supreme Court bench led by Justice Isa until changes were made to the court’s rules governing the chief justice’s discretionary authority.
The decision was made in a suo motu case examining the award of an additional 20 marks to Hafiz-e-Quran applicants seeking admission to an MBBS/BDS programme. The bench was presided over by Justice Isa and included Justices Aminuddin Khan and Shahid Waheed.
To hear the case, CJP Bandial assembled a special bench of three judges, but Justice Isa objected to the bench’s makeup. Justice Waheed objected, claiming that the issues brought up and covered in the order had nothing to do with the case.
The Supreme Court Rules of 1980, according to the order written by Justice Isa, neither permit nor provide for special benches. To hear this case, a special bench of three judges was assembled.
The majority ruling stated that the Constitution did not give the Chief Justice the authority to make the aforementioned decisions in a unilateral or arbitrary manner.
The order stated that an individual, even the Chief Justice, could not take on the role of the Supreme Court’s judges and Chief Justice. According to the SC registrar, the order broke the guidelines established by a five-member judgement.
Ishrat Ali has been asked to be recalled by the establishment division in order to protect the Supreme Court’s honour and reputation from further harm.
He also suggested starting disciplinary actions against him for disobeying the Supreme Court’s ruling in Suo Motu Case No. 4 of 2022 and the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
The three-member special SC bench that issued the order with a two-to-one majority shocked the senior puisne judge when he received the circular from the SC registrar, which he claimed sought to negate, undo, disobey, and violate it.
Finally, Justice Isa’s demand that Ishrat Ali’s charge be immediately dropped as a result of his disobedience of a court order emphasises the importance of following court rules and procedures in the legal system.
Corrective action must be taken in order to stop future violations because it is impossible to ignore the effects that such behaviour has on the Supreme Court’s integrity and reputation.
