The Supreme Court on Monday accepted review petitions filed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa and his wife Sarina Isa.
Supreme Court of Pakistan by majority 6:4 allowed review petitions against June 19 order wherein FBR was directed to conduct inquiry against properties of Justice Isa's family members. (Justice Bandial, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, Justice Munib & Justice Qazi Amin Ahmed dissented).
— Hasnaat Malik (@HasnaatMalik) April 26, 2021
Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday concluded hearing into a review petition from Justice Qazi Faez Isa and reserved a verdict into the case.
Concluding the hearing, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, who is heading a 10-member larger bench, remarked that they had reserved a verdict on the case and could announce it within half an hour. “We could also convey within half an hour as to when the verdict on the case will be announced,” he said.
On October 23, 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.”
Read More: Judicial impartiality paramount to serving justice
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.