SC stops audio leaks commission from doing further work, suspends notification of its establishment

ISLAMABAD (92 News) - The Supreme Court stopped the audio leaks commission from doing work on Friday.

In the short verdict on the pleas against the audio leaks commission, the court suspended the notification regarding the establishment of the commission issued on May 19.

It ruled that a judge cannot be made part of a commission without permission of the chief justice.

Earlier during the hearing, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial remarked that the government cannot ask any judge of its choice to sit in the bench. "The legislation to regulate the powers of the chief justice has been done in haste. The government tried to create differences among the judges. We would have shown a better path had the government consulted us," he observed.

The CJP remarked that the commission had been assigned the task of the investigation agencies.

The attorney general told the court that there would have been difficulties if the government had given the power to another institution to investigate the matter.

Shoaib Shaheen, counsel for the petitioner, stated that there is no objection of the recording of the audios is as per the law.

The CJP remarked that the 1998 verdict in the Benazir case tells another thing. "According to the verdict, the calls can be recorded only with the permission of the court," he observed.

The attorney general objected to the formation of the larger bench. The SC will resume the hearing on May 31. 

The five-member larger bench comprising of Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ejazul Ahsan, Justice Akhtar Muneeb, Justice Shahid Waheed and Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi heard the pleas.

The federal government formed a three-member judicial commission for investigations into the alleged audio leaks. Justice Qazi Faez Isa was head of the commission, while IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Balochistan Chief Justice Naeem Akhtar were its members.