Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has once again approached the Supreme Court, filing an application to prevent Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa from hearing cases involving him, his wife, his party, or his allies.
In a five-page application moved before the three-member bench-constitution committee of the top court, Imran pointed to the "actual and potential bias" on the part of Chief Justice Isa. Imran suggested that the bias created since the reference imran's government had filed against Justice Isa did not fade even after he assumed the high office of chief justice.
However, the bulk of his reasons pertaining to what Imran perceived was the source of bias of CJP Isa was the reference he had asked then President Arif Alvi to file against then Justice Isa and his wife for allegedly "concealed assets".
Imran claimed that while serving as prime minister, his Assets Recovery Unit (ARU) informed him that some assets had been detected that belonged to Justice Isa, but they had not been declared per the applicable law. Since the matter required a probe by the Supreme Judicial Council, Imran sought the advice of legal experts. Subsequently, he advised President Alvi to file a reference before the Supreme Judicial Council.
"The discharge of a constitutional function as aforesaid was taken to be a personal assault by the honourable wife of his Lordship Justice Faez Isa," Imran claimed in his application, adding that CJP Isa's wife publicly "made demands of the applicant, that expressed a high degree of personal spite and venom."
"Needless to say, these views were based on little more than anger, and the expression of these views was an unfortunate event," he said, adding, "There is no reason to believe that his Lordship Justice Faez Isa disagreed with the views expressed by his wife. No such disagreement was ever expressed."
Imran then referred to certain statements issued by Sarina Isa and reported in various publications (including The Friday Times) in which she sought the removal of Imran as PM, challenged him to a televised debate and an open letter criticising Imran's slogan of turning Pakistan into 'Riasat-e-Medina'.
Imran claimed that these incidents and others have caused "apprehension of bias as well as the possibility of bias in the mind of the applicant".
"Such apprehension and possibility is likely to have arisen in the minds of most reasonable and fair-minded observers of the judicial process," he said, adding that extra-judicial statements of a judge or persons closely associated with a judge can be the basis of the apprehension or possibility of bias."
Imran further mentioned the judgement of a five-member bench of the Supreme Court that held that Justice Isa should not hear matters pertaining to Imran Khan's government. It is pertinent to note here that when that judgement was passed, CJP Isa was not yet the chief justice, and since then, Imran Khan's government has ended.
"The applicant had, in good faith, expected that on assumption of high office of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the past would fade away. However, it is increasingly clear that this has not happened," Imran argued without offering a recent example demonstrating CJP Isa's bias.
"The conduct and demeanour of his Lordship Justice Faez Isa while hearing matters in which the applicant, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and its members or the Sunni Ittehad Council have an interest has led the applicant to believe that his Lordship's presence in benches hearing matters in which the applicant, his spouse and family, the PTI and its members or the Sunni Ittehad Council have an interest, will be an inimical to the confidence of a large part of the people of Pakistan in the impartiality of the judicial process."
Imran urged the three-member bench-constitution committee, which is headed by CJP Isa and comprises Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar, not to include CJP Isa in any bench which is hearing matters relating to the former prime minister, his spouse, his family, the PTI, and members of the allied Sunni Ittehad Council.
This is the second application in a month that Imran has moved requesting the top court to prevent CJP Isa from hearing cases involving him, his family, or his party.
In an application moved earlier this month as part of the NAB case, Imran had argued that Imran argued that per observations contained in a majority judgment of the Supreme Court reported as "In the matter of: Action against Distribution of Development Funds to MNAs / MPAs by Prime Minister" (PLD 2021 SC 446)" Justice Isa should not hear matters pertaining to Imran Khan.
"In the said judgment, it is observed that in order to uphold the principle of unbiasedness and impartiality, it would be in the interest of justice that Justice Qazi Faez Isa (as he then was, now Chief Justice) should not hear matters involving me (Imran)."