Islamabad (Staff Report/Agencies): Supreme Court judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa on Wednesday challenged the presidential reference against him in the top court, requesting the apex court to issue a restraining order over Supreme Judicial Council’s proceedings till the court decides on his plea.
According to reports, Justice Isa personally went to the institution bench of the SC to file a constitution petition under Article 183 (3) of the Constitution.
The SJC’s on July 18 had issued two show-cause notices to Justice Isa on allegedly holding undeclared foreign properties and sending letters to President Arif Alvi.
Earlier, Justice Isa had requested Chief Justice of Pakistan (CPJ) Asif Saeed Khosa, who is also head of the SJC, to make his reply public as the allegations against him are known in the public space.
According to sources, Justice Isa has moved two applications at the SJC. The first requests the SJC to make his reply public and the second, asks the council to share evidentiary sources used to draft the reference against him.
On July2, a five-member SJC bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa and comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Singh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Shaikh and the Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth heard the references against Justice Faez Isa for allegedly possessing properties in the United Kingdom.
Justice Isa has already excused himself from being part of any bench and hearing cases.
On June 15, the same bench held the first hearing of the references.
