Thursday, March 28, 2024

Nawaz Sharif files review petition against SC verdict in judge video scandal

Nawaz Sharif files review petition against SC verdict in judge video scandal
October 7, 2019
ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday filed a review petition against the verdict of the Supreme Court in the judge video scandal. In the petition filed through his counsel Khawaja Haris, he contended that the verdict was pronounced and parameters were set without listening to them. “The court observation against us should be abolished. The court should listen to us toi fulfill the requirements of justice,” he contended. The Supreme Court had refused to interfere in the matter as the case was sub judice in the Islamabad High Court and ongoing investigations of the FIA. On August 23, the Supreme Court dismissed a set of petitions on a video leak scandal involving former accountability court judge Arshad Malik. "We find that it may not be an appropriate stage for this court to interfere in the matter of the relevant video and its effects since the video may have relevance to a criminal appeal presently sub judice before the Islamabad High Court (IHC),” the judges had said in the detailed verdict. The verdict, authored by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, noted that five main issues needed to be attended by the top court; among them was the possible impact of the video — if proven to be authentic — on the ruling by judge Malik in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference that had put away former premier Nawaz Sharif last year. Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa also reprimanded judge Malik for his conduct. "His admitted conduct emerging from that press release and the affidavit stinks and the stench of such stinking conduct has the tendency to bring a bad name to the entire judiciary as an institution. His sordid and disgusting conduct has made the thousands of honest, upright, fair and proper judges in the country hang their heads in shame," the verdict read.
Video case history
On July 6, Maryam Nawaz made a startling claim that Judge Arshad Malik ‘confessed’ he had been ‘pressurised and blackmailed’ to convict her father in the Al-Azizia reference. A video containing the judge's alleged confession during his conversation with a 'sympathizer' of the PML-N, Nasir Butt, was screened during a hurriedly called presser at the party’s provincial headquarters in Model Town. The next day, in a press release, the judge had denied being under any pressure, but admitted that Nasir Butt was an acquaintance. Judge Arshad Malik, in Dec 2018, had handed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif seven years in jail in the Al-Azizia reference. He, however, had acquitted him in a second reference related to Flagship Investments. Nawaz is currently serving his term at Kot Lakhpat jail while his sentence in the Avenfield corruption reference — which he was convicted in on July 6 last year — has been suspended.