Senior Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa questioned the verdict of an apex court bench – led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial – suspending a judicial commission formed to investigate the audio leaks.
A day earlier, a five-judge bench comprising CJ Bandial, and Justices Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, Munib Akhtar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Shahid Waheed, suspended the notification issued by the government, and ordered a stay on the commission's proceedings.
The verdict was issued on a number of pleas by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), PTI chairman Imran Khan and others, seeking to declare the commission illegal.
During the hearing, CJ Bandial had noted that the commission "interfered in judiciary’s internal matters" and said there were 'errors' in the notification.
Today, while reacting to the order, Justice Isa asked as to why the Attorney General of Pakistan Mansoor Awan did not specify to the bench that the contentions raised had already been addressed.
He also observed that neither him nor his legal team was notified of the hearing on Friday, while the two other members of the commission also weren't present on the occasion.
Justice Isa also asked AGP if he had been notified about the aforesaid hearing, to which he replied in the negative, saying he was verbally told to be in the courtroom.
The senior judge questioned how the court could issue a stay when the proceedings had hardly begun, and adjourned the hearing into audio leaks, which have been surfacing for the past few months.
A day earlier, a five-judge bench comprising CJ Bandial, and Justices Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, Munib Akhtar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Shahid Waheed, suspended the notification issued by the government, and ordered a stay on the commission's proceedings.
The verdict was issued on a number of pleas by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), PTI chairman Imran Khan and others, seeking to declare the commission illegal.
During the hearing, CJ Bandial had noted that the commission "interfered in judiciary’s internal matters" and said there were 'errors' in the notification.
Today, while reacting to the order, Justice Isa asked as to why the Attorney General of Pakistan Mansoor Awan did not specify to the bench that the contentions raised had already been addressed.
He also observed that neither him nor his legal team was notified of the hearing on Friday, while the two other members of the commission also weren't present on the occasion.
Justice Isa also asked AGP if he had been notified about the aforesaid hearing, to which he replied in the negative, saying he was verbally told to be in the courtroom.
"When the inquiry commission was not notified, how can it be prevented from continuing its work?" he asked, saying such an order is typically issued once all all the parties have been heard, as per SC rules.
Upon being asked further, Awan said that two of the pleas in the case had named the commission as a respondent.
The senior judge questioned how the court could issue a stay when the proceedings had hardly begun, and adjourned the hearing into audio leaks, which have been surfacing for the past few months.