SC will make decision wisely: CJP Khosa notes in judge video scandal case

The CJP asked Attorney General Anwar Mansoor to assist the court about the proceedings.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) on Tuesday resumed hearing of three petitions on the video scandal involving former accountability court judge Arshad Malik who had convicted former premier Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia reference and acquitted him in the Flagship Investments reference.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed presided over the hearing of the petitions seeking a directive from the apex court for the constitution of an inquiry committee or a judicial commission to probe the matter.

The CJP asked Attorney General Anwar Mansoor to assist the court about the proceedings and the directions to follow over the controversial matter.

The attorney general told the court that the petitions have pleaded with the court to constitute a judicial commission to investigate into the matter.

“One of the petitions has also requested the court to take an action against judge Arshad Malik,” he apprised the bench, adding that all facts have been revealed and the judge has also submitted his affidavit [as a rebuttal to Maryam Nawaz s press conference in which she leaked the video].

Furthermore, he told the court that the judge has also submitted a ‘complaint’ with the Federal Investigation Agency’s cyber crime wing under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA).

He apprised the bench that the FIA has been on the hunt for arresting several suspects involved in the alleged crime and a USB containing the video has been recovered during investigation into the matter.

“The video recovered from Mian Tariq was used for blackmailing the judge and originally the video was recorded in a cassette,” he maintained.

To which, the CJP gave remarks that the video has proved one part of the judge’s stance [regarding the video] ‘correct’, while the court was not aware of what was inside the video as only one video was verified.

The chief justice further stated that the judge had done something and that was why he was blackmailed.

To this, Mansoor said that Arshad Malik as the judge should not have done this act.

The top judge inquired about whether the video shown in the press conference by Maryam Nawaz was used to blackmail the judge.

The attorney general told the court that the judge has refuted some parts of the video.

He told the court that no laboratory in Pakistan could perform the forensic audit of the video, and the FIA had conducted the forensic audit ‘on its own’.

“There is no ISO verified laboratory [to verify the video] in Pakistan and the video was made sometime between the years 2000 to 2003,” he stated.

During the hearing today, the attorney general also informed the court that [former] judge Arshad Malik had claimed that he had met PML-N’s Nasir Butt on April 6, 2019.

“Nawaz Sharif had welcomed the judge [upon his arrival], and Nasir Butt had initiated the discussion, whereas the judge had denied some parts of the video,” he added.

“The first dimension [of the case] pertains to the judge regarding his designation [for the continuity of his job] while the other dimension relates with the verdict in the Al-Azizia reference,” the court was told.

“According to the judge, he had met Sharif in April, so when did Sharif file the appeal?” the top judge asked.

To this, Mansoor responded that the appeal had been filed in time.

“So how come the judge inspected the matter in April…we have to look if the judge had given its stance with honesty,” the judge remarked, adding that the video and the audio was recorded separately and during the press conference both were mixed, which in turn implies that the real ‘material’ wasn’t shown.

To which, the attorney general told the court that attempts were being made to recover the real video.

“Nasir Butt in front of Sharif claimed that the judge had given in the verdict under pressure, but the judge had denied it and told the facts to Sharif…which in turn dismayed Sharif,” he went on to say, adding that the judge, in his affidavit, stated that he had met defense counsel of Sharif.

The court also inquired why Sharif was in Jati Umra. The bench was told that he was on bail.

The bench further asked if the FIA has recovered the original video as it was recorded in the year 2003 when it couldn’t be digital.

The CJP further remarked that an action could also be taken under the contempt of court, and the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) could also proceed in this case.

Justice Umar Atta stated that the court wanted to know about the reality behind allegations made by both sides.

CJP Khosa noted that the court would not take a leap in the dark and would come to a decision with wisdom without taking any side.

“No commission or Pemra can nullify the ruling of the accountability court; however the [Islamabad] High Court can provide relief to Sharif after analysing the evidence,” he remarked.

“Is it correct to meet a convicted person after announcing sentence…we would examine the conduct of the judge and reach a decision ourselves,” he added.

On July 16, the Supreme Court took up three petitions seeking a thorough probe into the video leak controversy, and had asked Attorney General Anwar Mansoor’s assistance in reaching a proper option on diverse issues regarding the matter.

However, on that day, the attorney general was present in Hague for hearing the verdict by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.

Thereby, the chief justice summoned Mansoor on July 23 (today) saying the court had to determine whether it should order a re-trial or re-writing of the conviction order based on the same evidence or just wait for the decision of the appeal against the conviction which was pending before the IHC.