SC declines early hearing of pleas

Despite efforts by PTI lawyers and the federal government, the Supreme Court on Monday did not agree to early listing of petitions seeking contempt proceedings for non-implementation of its August 18 order, as well as a review of the same directive. The government filed an application seeking an early hearing of its review petition against the August 18 order regarding shifting former Prime Minister Imran Khan from Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital for a medical checkup. The application sought fixation of the review within two days. However, the Supreme Court did not accept the plea for an early hearing and decided to take up the government's review petition in its turn. Meanwhile, Uzma Khan, Imran Khan's sister, also filed a contempt petition before the Supreme Court against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and others, alleging violation of the August 18 order. PTI lawyers, led by Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Sardar Latif Khosa, also visited the Supreme Court on Monday and met the registrar, requesting early fixation of the contempt petition. It is learnt that the Supreme Court administration will also list the contempt petition in its turn. The three-member bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim is scheduled to resume hearing on September 16. Although the Supreme Court's summer vacations are currently under way, all three members of the bench are available and hearing cases. Under the Supreme Court Rules, a review petition can be heard by the same bench that passed the original order. Sources told The Express Tribune that it had already been decided that both the contempt petition and the government's review petition would be fixed according to their turn. Talking to the media outside the Supreme Court premises, Barrister Gohar said he and Sardar Latif Khosa had come to meet Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi to seek early fixation of Uzma Khan's contempt petition concerning the alleged violation of the August 18 order. He said the chief justice was busy, and their meeting could not take place. Gohar said the lawyers subsequently met the Supreme Court registrar, who assured them that a case number would be allotted to the contempt petition. He said the August 18 order could not be overlooked. "We only want the PTI founder's medical tests to be conducted at a private hospital, with both his sister Uzma and his personal physician Dr Faisal Sultan included in the medical board examining him," he said. The government has strong reservations about the Supreme Court's direction to shift Imran Khan to a private hospital for medical examination. Lawyers, however, believe the real challenge for the Supreme Court is not the review petition but the implementation of its August 18 order. They argue that the review petition could provide the government an opportunity to delay implementation of the order. Barrister Asad Rahim Khan said the Supreme Court had emerged as a "rather diminished institution" following what he described as actions by judges that had obstructed its writ during the 90-day election and reserved seats cases. "If the court wishes to reclaim its lost authority, it is imperative it take up the regime flouting its hospital order and take steps to implement it," he said. Advocate Maha Raja Tareen said the situation demonstrated the principle that "justice delayed is justice denied". She said this was being witnessed in what she described as Pakistan's "refurbished judicial system", where a former PM was denied basic rights guaranteed under Article 9 of the Constitution. The government is also believed to be confident that the Supreme Court is unlikely to take up the contempt matter before September 16, giving it time to pursue its review petition. Recently, President Asif Ali Zardari approved an increase in the salaries and allowances of Supreme Court judges, bringing them at par with those of Federal Constitutional Court judges. The Supreme Court is facing a significant test of its ability to enforce its orders during the tenure of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, who had himself issued a contempt notice to Imran Khan in May 2022 over an alleged violation of the court's order concerning the PTI long march. The latest controversy comes at a time when the Supreme Court's institutional position has undergone significant changes following the 26th Amendment. Lawyers believe the judiciary has faced growing constraints, particularly in the appointment of judges and in its relationship with the executive. The government has also gained a greater role in the appointment of judges to the superior courts. CJP Afridi has reportedly differed with the executive on the transfer of judges from other high courts to the Islamabad High Court, and the subsequent question of their seniority. Despite the reservations attributed to the chief justice, the government eventually prevailed, and Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar was appointed chief justice of the IHC.