Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa provided 11 justifications (jawab-e-shikwa) for his decision on Thursday in response to a letter from senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, which raised concerns over Justice Munib Akhtar’s removal from the judges committee.
Shortly after the new Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Amendment Ordinance 2024 was enacted, on September 20, CJP Isa named Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan—but not Justice Munib Akhtar—to the three-member judges’ committee.
The chief justice is authorized under the ordinance to propose a judge for the committee that makes up the benches.
The chief justice, the next most senior judge after the CJP, and the judge that Justice Isa recommended shall make up the body, according to the legislation.
Legally speaking, the CJP stated in his letter that he could not be questioned about why he chose a judge to be the committee’s third member, but he promised to give an explanation for Justice Akhtar’s replacement since he has always supported accountability and openness.
According to the Chief Justice, Justice Akhtar fiercely disagreed with the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, which abolished the Chief Justice’s authority over the Supreme Court as well.
He remarked, “He was one of the two justices who took advantage of the entire summer vacation; he was unaffected by the growing backlog of cases.”
The letter stated that Justice Akhtar persisted on attending committee meetings while being on vacation and unable to complete court work, implying that he did not trust Justice Yahya Afridi, the incoming senior judge.
“The Act further mandates that urgent matters be resolved within 14 days; however, Munib Akhtar’s reluctance to hear urgent constitutional issues during his vacation nullified both this legislative requirement and the ability to seek review under the constitution.
CJP Isa provided more justification for his decision to remove Justice Akhtar from the committee, citing his disrespectful and irrational actions against a prominent committee member and his departure from the meeting.
The chief justice of the supreme court further mentioned that the justices on Justice Akhtar’s bench sometimes concluded their work before 11 a.m. and deferred most of the cases, which alarmed the other judges.
In the audio leaks case, he added, the senior puisne imposed a stay order instead of setting a hearing date.
Justice Shah expressed worry over the rebuilding of the judges’ committee and Justice Akhtar’s removal from the committee’s composition within hours of the ordinance’s proclamation in a letter to the Supreme Court secretary on September 23.
