A six-member bench of the Supreme Court formed to deliberate on Justice Faez Isa’s order freezing all the suo moto notices, closed the case after a 5-minute hearing.
The larger bench includes Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A Malik, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi.
Earlier, Justice Isa, while hearing a case pertaining to the grant of additional 20 marks to Hafiz-e-Quran pre-medical candidates for admission into MBBS/BDS degrees, had issued an order to halt all suo moto hearings.
Later, a circular was issued by the SC Registrar Ishrat Ali ‘disregarding’ the order, triggering controversy about whether a judicial order can be overruled by an administrative order.
Regarding the matter, Justice Faez Isa asked the registrar to resign, followed by the federal government removing him from his post.
The decision was taken during a special meeting of the federal cabinet — held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif — at the PM House in the federal capital.
The cabinet examined the issue of issuance of a circular by the registrar against the order of the Supreme Court, a statement read, following which he was asked to report to the Establishment Division.
On Monday, the brewing crisis in the SC dialed up a notch when Justice Qazi Faez Isa wrote a letter to the Registrar and asked him to immediately withdraw the circular that disregarded the judge’s judicial order about the postponement of suo moto proceedings.
In his order dated March 29, Justice Isa had written that the Chief Justice of Pakistan does not arbitrary powers to form benches and list cases for hearings. “With respect, the Chief Justice cannot substitute his personal wisdom with that of the constitution,” the stern-worded document said.
In the letter addressed to Ishrat Ali, the top judge said that he was astonished to receive a ‘Circular’ bearing No. Registrar/2023/SCJ dated 31 March 2023.
He reminded the officer that “a registrar does not have the power or authority to undo a judicial order, and the Chief Justice cannot issue administrative directions with regard thereto.”
He wrote that the registrar should be aware of his constitutional responsibility as a senior officer, advising him to leave the charge of the post.
Justice Isa is set to become the next chief justice later this year.
