Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Malik Shehzad Ahmed Khan on Friday convened a full court meeting on April 22 to discuss ways to protect judicial independence and develop a mechanism to hold those people accountable who undermine this freedom.
The move comes a couple of weeks after six Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges levelled allegations of interference in judicial affairs by the country’s intelligence apparatus.
On March 25, six of the total eight IHC judges wrote a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), exposing attempts to pressurise judges through abduction and torture of their relatives as well as secret surveillance of their homes.
The letter was signed by judges Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Saman Rafat Imtiaz.
A day later, calls emerged from various quarters for a probe into the allegations. As a result, Supreme Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa convened a full court meeting of the Supreme Court’s judges.
After a meeting between Justice Isa and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on March 28, it was decided that a commission would be formed after the cabinet’s approval to investigate the allegations levelled by the IHC judges in the judicial affairs.
However, former CJP Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, who was appointed head of the inquiry commission, subsequently recused himself from taking over matter. In consequence, the apex court took a suo motu notice of the issue.
Today, a notification issued by the LHC registrar said CJ Khan was “pleased to convene” the full court meeting for April 22 (Monday) at 1:30pm to “consider how best to protect independence of the judiciary” and to “put in place a mechanism to affix liability for those who undermine such independence and clarify for the benefit of individual judges the course they must take when they find themselves at the receiving end of interference and/or intimidation by members of the executive.
The notification said the decision was taken in light of the Supreme Court’s directions in the April 3 suo motu hearing.
“All the honourable judges gracing at principal seat are requested to make it convenient to attend the meeting on the said date, time and venue,” the notification said, adding that the judges working at the three divisional benches will participate via video link
