President Human Rights Cell of the PPP former senator Farhatullah Babar has welcomed the SC agreeing to hear the intra court appeal challenging the court’s June 2023 decision in Afiya Sheherbano case as “a step forward, albeit a small one, in ensuring accountability of judges”
The Afiya Sheherbano case was based on a reference filed in 2018 by civil society activists concerned about judicial accountability against the then chief justice while still in office. The reference however was not heard by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) as long as the CJ held the office. After his retirement the reference was quietly shelved and declared infructuous.
Subsequently the appeal against the SJC decision was also rejected by a 2 member bench of the SC comprising of Justice Munib Akhtar and now retired Justice Ijazul Ahsan in June 2023 who held that the judges who retire or resign do not fall within the ambit of Article 209 aimed at accountability of judges.
The two-member verdict however was challenged recently by the Attorney General to pursue a reference filed against another judge justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi in the SJC even after his resignation
Farhatullah Babar said that the civil society petitioners had raised fundamental questions about accountability of judges, an answer to which will ensure accountability of all. For instance it asked whether the SJC sitting over a reference fled before it till the judge in question retired and then declaring it as infructuous did not make Article 209 of the Constitution that determines misconduct of judges, as redundant making the accountability of judges impossible. They also asked whether the accountability body of judges is not required to decide each and every matter that is filed before it. They also raised questions about the denial of right to information as the Council gave them no information for two months until the petitioners themselves asked about the fate of the Reference.
Welcoming the SC agreeing to hear the intra court appeal he said that ensuring the accountability of judges will also strengthen voice demanding accountability of the security establishment which too has refused any attempt to hold it accountable.
The petitioners in Afiya Sheherbano case also include late journalist M Ziauddin, late Rubina Saigol, senator AfrasiabKhattak, Farhatullah Babar, Bushra Gohar, Nighat Said Khan and Farida Shaheed and many more civil society activists