SC throws out presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa, terms it 'invalid'.

Byline: Haseeb Bhatti

The Supreme Court on Friday threw out the presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa, terming it 'invalid'.

'[The reference] is declared to be of no legal effect whatsoever and stands quashed,' read the majority (9-1) short verdict on a petition filed by Justice Isa and others seeking the reference's dismissal.

Justice Yahya Afridi found the petition "non-maintainable".

The top court also ended any pending proceedings against the judge in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which it said also meant withdrawal of a show cause notice issued to Justice Isa by the council in July last year for 'writing letters to President Arif Alvi' after the presidential reference against him was filed.

Furthermore, seven of the 10 judges on the bench also ordered the Inland Revenue Department and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to seek explanations from the judge's wife and children on the nature and source of funding for three properties in their names in the United Kingdom and submit a report to the SC registrar.

Other than the dissenting Justice Afridi, Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah opposed the majority decision of an FBR inquiry.

The verdict was announced by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, who was heading the 10-judge bench hearing the case.

The short order directed the Inland Revenue Commissioner to send a notice to the judge's wife and children within seven days, asking them for the aforesaid explanations about their properties in the UK.

The commissioner will complete the investigation within 60 days and issue an order within 15 days of the investigation's conclusion. The FBR has been directed to submit a report to the SC registrar within seven days of the commissioner's order.

The registrar will then present the report to the chairman of the SJC (the chief justice of Pakistan) who will decide when to present it in the council.

Munir A Malik, counsel for Justice Isa, while speaking to the media outside the SC said that "all of their arguments were accepted by the court including malafide intention, prematurity and lack of evidence".

"The Assets Recovery Unit cannot be accepted as a legal department as it was not constituted on legal grounds," he added.

President of the Supreme Court Bar Association Hafiz Abdur Rehman Ansari in a statement "highly appreciated" the top court's verdict and commended it for "its courageous demonstration guarding its independence [and] thus upholding the prime objective of...