Chief Justice Isa calls it a day
Pakistan
A full court reference was held to pay tribute to his services
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa called it a day on Friday (Oct 25) on attaining the age of superannuation.
A few days earlier, Justice Isa concluded his cases and started “chamber work”. Chief Justice Isa wrote judgements during the chamber work.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah's bench was shifted to Courtroom No 1.
CJP Isa sent the names of three most senior judges of the Supreme Court to a parliamentary committee constituted under the 26th constitutional amendment. It paved the way for selection of Justice Yahya Afridi as the new chief justice.
A full court reference was held on Friday to pay tribute to Qazi Faez Isa.
THE ISA SAGA
Qazi Faez Isa was born in Quetta on Oct 26, 1959, to Qazi Muhammad Isa and Begum Saida Isa. His father was a prominent Pakistan Movement activist and a close associate of the founder of the country, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
He completed his early education in Quetta, did his "O" and "A" levels from Karachi Grammar School and BA (Honours) in Law, from London. He did his Bar professional examination from the Inns of Court School of Law, London, and was called to the Bar of England and Wales (Middle Temple, 1982).
He started law practice in 1985 and enrolled as an advocate of the Balochistan High Court on Jan 30, 1985, and an advocate of Supreme Court on March 21, 1998.
He refused to appear before the judges who had violated their oath by legitimising the proclamation of emergency of Nov 3, 2007, by Gen Pervez Musharraf. After the judgement of the Supreme Court on July 31, 2009, declaring the Nov 3 proclamation unconstitutional and illegal, the then judges of the Balochistan High Court tendered their resignations.
Justice Isa was called upon to serve the province and was directly elevated to the position of chief justice of Balochistan on Aug 5, 2009.
At that time, Justice Isa was the only judge in the Balochistan High Court. He nominated other judges to re-establish the high court.
THE EPIC CASES
Justice Isa was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Sept 5, 2014.
He had the reputation of upholding the law in the face of state hegemony.
He strongly dissented in the case of District Bar Association Rawalpindi v Federation of Pakistan, which enabled the trial of civilians by military court.
In the case of Sindh Revenue Board v Civil Aviation Authority, he adjudged that 'neither the Federation nor the provinces should invade upon the rights of the other nor encroach on the other's legislative domain'.
Justice Isa addressed illegalities in government projects in suo moto case No 19 of 2016, in which he observed that 'a small clique of persons is put in charge of these massive funds, avoiding established methods of checks and balances and circumventing the prescribed manner of implementing and executing of projects/schemes'.
In the case of Khalid Humayun v NAB, Justice Isa castigated the National Accountability Bureau for entering into a plea bargain with a government servant who was caught red-handed with a large amount of cash.
FAIZABAD DHARNA CASE
In the Faizabad dharna judgement, Justice Isa addressed the constitutional right to free movement and the unconstitutional interference of intelligence agencies in Pakistan's political system. Within the judgement, it was observed that free publicity for extremist parties, and the broadcast of inflammatory speeches had allowed for protests to turn violent and spread across Pakistan.
He observed that censorship of the media was unconstitutional, and that 'no one, including any government, department or intelligence agency can curtail the fundamental right of freedom of speech, expression and press beyond the parameters mentioned in Article 19 of the Constitution.'
CONTROVERSIES
In May 2019, the president of Pakistan filed a reference against Justice Isa. The reference was later struck down by the Supreme Court.
It was alleged that the properties belonging to Justice Isa's wife, Mrs Sarina Isa, were actually his own. Mrs Isa successfully challenged the order, establishing that she had an independent means of livelihood and was a separate taxpayer, since she started working in 1981.
In its detailed judgment, the Supreme Court found that the reference filed against Justice Isa had been in 'wanton disregard of the law', with 'glaring lapses and procedural irregularities in the filing of the reference'.
The government had filed a 'curative review' seeking review of the Supreme Court's decision. In July 2022, the Cabinet led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that it would withdraw the 'curative review'.
This was done so in March 2023. In July 2023, a petition against the withdrawal of the review was dismissed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial.
In response to a freedom of information request by the Women's Action Forum, Justice Isa was the only judge who published details of all his assets, income, and privileges on the Supreme Court website. His wife Mrs Sarina Isa also voluntarily did so.
PTI intra-party elections case
On Jan 13, 2024, less than a month before the general election, a three-member Supreme Court bench led by CJP Isa upheld the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), overturning a prior reversal of the ECP's order by a bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC).
The initial ECP order, citing alleged irregularities in PTI's intra-party elections conducted on Dec 2, 2023, rendered them ineligible to keep their election symbol, the cricket bat.
Elections 2024 rigging allegations
On Feb 17, 2024, Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha, in a press conference, accused CJP Isa of being involved in rigging of General Elections 2024. Later while talking to reporters, Isa denied these allegations.
Chattha was arrested and shifted to an undisclosed location. On Feb 22, 2024, he apologised for his allegations while claiming that the PTI exerted pressure on him to discredit Isa.
Practice and Procedure Ordinance
As a judge, CJP Isa championed the original 2023 Supreme Court Practices and Procedure bill that allowed for a three-member committee consisting of the chief justice and two most senior judges to form benches instead of it only being the chief. He continued to speak in favour of the law when elected chief justice.
