SC judge deplores remarks ‘against SHC judges’ integrity’
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ISLAMABAD: Festering tensions between senior Supreme Court judges deepened after Justice Sajjad Ali Shah expressed disappointment over remarks made by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood that called into question “integrity” of Sindh High Court (SHC) judges whose names were recommended by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial for elevation to top court.
In a letter written to CJP, who is Chairman Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), Justice Shah deplored remarks, adding that questioning integrity of judges on hearsay from “one or two lawyers” who are not even named was regrettable.
“Without intending any disrespect, I was really disappointed that one of members from judicial side spoke about integrity of judges from Sindh by saying that he has gained such information from ‘one or two lawyers’ that he knows from Sindh, worth of such information could be gauged from fact that representative of lawyer Akhtar Hussain did not question their integrity and specifically stated that so far nominees of Justice Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi were concerned, he was disputing their nomination on principle of seniority and had no other issue with traits,” he pointed out.
It is noteworthy that controversy surrounding developments during last month’s closed-door meeting of JCP has refused to die as more conflicting statements and rebuttals from members of commission continue to pour in. On July 30, CJP Umar Ata Bandial also ordered release of over a two-hour-long audio recording of session to public in order to settle brewing controversy.
In his letter, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, who is retiring on August 14, wondered why Justice Tariq did not consult his colleagues on this issue as two JCP members had not only served in SHC for more than a decade but also as it’s chief justices.
Justice Shah said that integrity of three SHC judges is beyond doubt and added he would like to state that calling into question integrity of judges on hearsay from “one or two lawyers who are not even named was regrettable.
He urged CJP Bandial that being head of institution, he should do everything to restore confidence of said SHC judges.
