• Detailed judgement observes any attempt to malign judges undermines public trust in judiciary
• Minister terms the verdict ‘contradictory’; says violation of basic rights can be challenged
• Minority verdict by Justice Bandial, three others awaited
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court in a detailed judgement issued on Saturday observed that its June 19, 2020 direction to the tax authorities to investigate allegations against Sarina Isa, the wife of Justice Qazi Faez Isa, of not declaring three foreign properties in her name and her children and submit its findings to the Supreme Judicial Council (JDC) violated the principle of natural justice.
Detailed reasons of the April 26, 2021 short order were jointly authored by Justice Maqbool Baqar, Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik (retired), Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan.
They were members of the 10-judge bench that overturned its June 19, 2020 majority order in Justice Isa case. The much-awaited judgement explained that these directions definitely fell within the scope of the well-established ground of review namely “error apparent on the face of the record” and thus could be recalled in exercise of the court’s review jurisdiction under Article 188 of the Constitution.
The SC, by a majority of six to four, had overturned its June 19 majority order, rendering the exercise conducted by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) null and void as the fresh order set aside the verdict that authorized the FBR to evaluate and later impose tax liability against Mrs Isa for possessing three properties in the UK.
The minority verdict by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Qazi Mohammad Amin Ahmed is still awaited.
In a loud and clear manner, the detailed verdict observed that no one, including a judge of the country’s highest court, was above the law, but no one, including a judge,…