Executive’s interference in judicial functions will not be tolerated: Full court session

Islamabad: In the context of the letter written by the judges of Islamabad High Court (IHC), the declaration of the full court session chaired by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa was issued, in which it was said that the independence of the judiciary cannot be compromised under any circumstances, interference in the judicial functions of judges by the executive will not be tolerated.

In the context of the letter written by six judges of IHC, the CJP called a full court meeting of Supreme Court after meeting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

All the judges of the Supreme Court participated in the full court session presided over by the Chief Justice.

According to the announcement of the full court session, on March 26, the letter of six judges of IHC was received, due to the seriousness of the matter, the Chief Justice called a meeting of six judges of Islamabad on the same day, the concerns of each judge were heard individually.

According to the statement, after the meeting with the Prime Minister, the full court session was called again. In the meeting, the judges were briefed regarding the meeting with the Prime Minister. The full court meeting considered the issues raised in the letter of the six judges.

It is said in the statement that in the meeting with Prime Minister, it was clarified that the independence of the judiciary cannot be compromised under any circumstances, interference in the judicial work of the judges by the executive will not be tolerated.

An inquiry commission headed by a retired judge of good repute should investigate the matter. The prime minister assured that a meeting of the federal cabinet would be called to approve the formation of the commission, added the statement.

According to the statement, the CJP Qazi and the senior most judge involved in the meeting said that the independence of the judiciary is the main pillar that maintains the rule of law. Shehbaz Sharif assured that he would take further appropriate steps to ensure an independent judiciary.

It has been stated in the statement that the premier also assured to issue instructions to the relevant departments and to initiate the legislation related to paragraph 53 of Faizabad Dharna Case.

It is pertinent to note that on the issue of the letter of six judges of the IHC, a full court meeting of the Supreme Court was held yesterday also under the chairmanship of Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa.

In the meeting, the letter of the judges of IHC was considered and the constitutional and legal status of the letter of the judges was reviewed.

Notably, the six judges of the IHC wrote a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and demanded that we fully support the position of Justice Retired Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui regarding investigation. If the independence of the judiciary was being interfered with, then who were those who undermined the freedom. Who supported them? All should be held accountable so that this does not happen again, there is no guidance in the Code of Conduct for Judges on how to report such a situation.