SC adjourns Justice Qazi Faez Isa's case till December 16

• The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned hearing of Justice Qazi Faez Isa's petition challenging the presidential reference filed against him over alleged non-disclosure of assets in his wealth statement till December 16.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned hearing of Justice Qazi Faez Isa's petition challenging the presidential reference filed against him over alleged non-disclosure of assets in his wealth statement till December 16.

A 10-member larger bench of the apex court headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Maqbool Baqar, Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik, Justice Faisal Arab, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed heard the case regarding proceedings of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against Justice Qazi Faez Isa. The reference filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa alleges that he acquired three properties in London on lease in the name of his wife and children between 2011 and 2015, but did not disclose them in his wealth returns.

During the course of proceedings, Advocate Munir Malilk, counsel for Justice Qazi, said Waheed Dogar filed a complaint against three judges' foreign property. Dogar identified the property but did not provide any documents, he added.

He said such a complaint would have been thrown out if it was received by the president or the judicial council.

He said Waheed Dogar submitted the complaint to the Asset Recovery Unit instead of the president. An attempt was made to complete the papers by taking the complaint seriously, he added.

Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel asked about the educational qualification of Waheed Dogar. Munir A Malik responded that in his view, Waheed Dogar was a proxy.

Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel asked when did the president know about the complaint against the judges.

Munir Malik said the president knew about the complaint after receiving advice from the prime minister. He said Waheed Dogar was made a respondent but he did not submit a response.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said if the documents were available, the law ministry would have sent the complaint itself.

Justice Faisal Arab said,"Sometimes drivers even tell where their bosses  went for vacation.

Munir Malik said that it was the responsibility of the person concerned to provide the content with the complaint. He said that he would try to finish the argument in two to three days.

Justice Umar Ata Bandial said that a lot of Judicial work was being affected due to this case. It was a matter of freedom of judiciary, so the full court was hearing the case.