The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Wednesday decided not to proceed further against Justice Qazi Faez Isa, a judge of the Supreme Court who won a case recently which set aside the court’s earlier directive to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to conduct an inquiry into three UK properties in the name of his wife and children.
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The SJC, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed, decided not to pursue any further against Justice Isa in the light of the April 26 10-judge Supreme Court judgement, an informed source confided to daily Dawn.
By a majority of six to four, the apex court had overturned its June 19, 2020, majority order that required verification and subsequent findings by the tax authorities of the three foreign properties which, according to the now quashed reference, were not disclosed.
Consequently, the entire exercise conducted by the FBR was rendered null and void since the fresh order that came on a set of review petitions recalled and set aside the June 19 verdict that had quashed the presidential reference against Justice Faez Isa, but authorised the FBR to evaluate and later impose tax liability on Mrs Isa for possessing three properties in the United Kingdom.
Previous decision
On October 23, 2020, the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) on Friday issued the detailed verdict in Justice Qazi Faez Isa case and declared a Presidential reference sent against the apex court judge as unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court (SC) on June 19, dismissed the presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa after declaring it ‘invalid’.
The detailed verdict released by the apex court nullified the presidential reference against Justice Isa and termed the reference as a violation of the law and the Constitution.
The judgment stated that the presidential reference filed against Justice Isa was in violation of the law and the Constitution. “The worthy President grossly failed to exercise his discretion as mandated under the Constitution and, thus, the entire process built thereon leading to the filing of the Reference was in violation of the law and the Constitution,” the verdict read.
“There was no evidence that Justice Isa had violated the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act and even the relevant provisions from the said law were not specified in the Reference.”
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According to the judgment, the court’s decision to direct the Federal Board of Revenue to commence tax proceedings against Sarina Isa and her children was based on two grounds: to establish that Judges of the Superior Court are answerable for allegations casting aspersions not only on their personal integrity but also on the integrity of the institution; and to honour the petitioner’s plea that the allegation of the absence of source of funds and money laundering must be first put to Sarina Isa, who is an independent taxpayer.