Unprecedently, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial Friday decided to make public the audio recording of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) meeting — held on Thursday— after two senior judges and JCP members rejected a statement issued by the Supreme Court about the proceedings and outcome of the meeting.
Justice Qai Faez Isa rejected the statement soon after it was issued on Thursday while Justice Sardar Tariq Masood reacted to it on Friday. The SC statement had claimed that the JCP meeting for the elevation of five high court judges to the top court was deferred on Thursday while Justice Isa and Justice Masood maintained that the meeting had rejected the names proposed by the CJP Bandial.
The JCP met on Thursday, July 28 to consider the elevation of five high court judges to the SC but the meeting ended without any approval and reports claimed that at least five of the nine members of the JCP had “rejected” the names proposed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial.
A private television reported that the SC officials promptly acted to counter such claims. A statement titled “Press Note” and undersigned by the “public relations officer” of the Supreme Court maintained that the JCP meeting was deferred to allow the chief justice “to place additional information and data about those already proposed and if he considers appropriate. But Justice Faez Isa, the puisne judge and a member of the JCP, rejected the SC statement and the notion that the meeting was deferred, making it clear that the JCP had “rejected” the names proposed by the CJP.
Statement by Justice Masood
On Friday, Justice Tariq Masood, another member of the JCP, said that the statement issued by the SC spokesperson was contrary to the facts. He said that the SC spokesperson was neither a member of the Judicial Commission nor its secretary.
Justice Masood said that the SC statement claimed that the meeting was deferred but in fact, the meeting rejected all five names by a 4-5 vote. The judge called for making the minutes of the JCP meeting public to put the speculations at rest.
CJP Bandial releases audio recording
Shortly after the reaction from Justice Masood, public relations officer of the SC issued a press release stating the CJP had ordered releasing the audio recording of the meeting on Supreme Court of Pakistan website.
Issuing a press release in this regard, the public relations officer of the SC Shahid Hussain Kamboyo said, “The version issued by the Public Relations Officer of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (“SCP”) under the instructions of Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan/Chairman, Judicial Commission of Pakistan (“JCP”) has been disputed by two Hon’ble Judges of the SCP, namely, Mr. Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Mr. Justice Sardar Tariq Masood”.
Kamboyo added that a resulting controversy has therefore arisen in the print and electronic media. “In these exceptional circumstances the Hon’ble Chairman JCP has been pleased to relax the restriction under Rule 5(4) of the JCP Rules, 2010 and has directed for the audio recording of the JCP proceedings of 28.07.2022 to be made available on the official website of the SCP”.
He pointed out that the audio recording from time slot 1:29:45 to 1:38:08 contains the statement by the worthy Attorney General for Pakistan that the matters under discussion should be deferred to frame the appropriate rules. He did not assess or reject the merits of any of the High Court Judges proposed for appointment to the SCP. As a result, 5 members of the JCP supported the deferment of the meeting as reported in the Press Note of 28.07.2022.
