SC yet to receive reference against judge who disqualified Sharif

ISLAMABAD: Though the news about Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq filing a reference against the most senior judge of the Supreme Court hit headlines on Saturday, the top court’s registrar has clarified it has not yet received such reference, ARY News reported on Saturday.

The speaker is reported to have prepared a reference against Justice Asif Saeed Khosa under the Article 209 of the constitution, levelling allegation of misconduct against him, to be filed in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).

The complainant submitted that Justice Khosa, who was member of the five judges bench which heard Panamagate case, declared him as loyalist of Nawaz Sharif, which negated the facts.

In the copy of the ‘reference’ in circulation, the Speaker complained that Justice Khosa’s labeling of him as a “nominee or loyalist of the prime minister is a misstatement and contrary to the facts. It [is] also tantamount to disparagement and breach of privilege of the august house of the National Assembly comprising of 342 members and the speaker elected by those members as custodian of the House.”

Calling into question the proceedings of the top court in the Panamagate case, the ‘reference’ said the office of speaker was not an investigative institution to probe the matter, but it did dispose of the references against Sharif within stipulated time in accordance with the relevant law, which the court did not appreciate.

The speaker had earlier rejected four references seeking disqualification of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the wake of the Panama Leaks for concealing his offshore properties.

Justice Khosa was one of the two judges who gave a split verdict in the Panamagate case on April 20 and declared Nawaz Sharif dishonest and not trustworthy to hold the office of the premiership.

The SJC was established under Article 209 of the Constitution to inquire into allegations levelled against judges of the Supreme Court and high courts over misconduct or an inability to perform their duties for reasons of mental or physical incapacity.