ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC), Tuesday, reserved the verdict over the maintainability of a petition seeking the removal of the chief justice of Pakistan’s name from the dam fund account’s title.
A single bench of Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the petition moved by advocate Adnan Iqbal. He has pleaded for suspending the Registrar Supreme Court’s authority over the dam fund. The petitioner has also requested the court to summon the former Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar and question him about the fund he launched for building dams and water reservoirs.
During the hearing, the IHC chief justice asked the petitioner that has he read the notification in this matter and what is wrong with it.
The petitioner replied how the Supreme Court is managing this matter as the construction of dams is the duty of the executive. He added that it is a violation of Article 175 and the apex court should handle the cases pending before it.
Justice Aamer said what the issue is if the SC is looking into this matter because this matter is being handled administratively and the SC is also an executive body. He asked why he not filed the petition when the money was being collected and why he did not object when the dam fund was being collected. He further said that five years have passed after the collection of dam funds and if there was any objection then, the State Bank of Pakistan should have raised it.
The petitioner adopted the stance that it is not in the ambit of the apex court to collect such funds.
Later, the IHC bench reserved its verdict over the maintainability of this petition.
The petitioner cited the Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Finance Division, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, registrar Supreme Court of Pakistan, chairman Public Accounts Committee, and former chief justice Saqib Nisar as respondents.
He requested the court to direct the respondents to refrain from spending the dam fund on advertisement as these funds were donated for the construction of dams and not awareness campaign or advertisement and refrain respondent No 04 (the registrar SC) from controlling, supervising and managing the dam fund account, and directing the Respondent 2 to control, supervise and manage the fund according to law.
The petitioner also prayed to the court to summon the former chief justice to clarify his position as to how, why, and under which law, he passed such an unwarranted order and indulged the judiciary in an activity which is not its domain.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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