Govt moves SC to withdraw curative review against Justice Faez Isa

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Saturday requested the Supreme Court to withdraw the curative review petition filed against the order of the majority in the review petitions of Justice Qazi Faez Isa passed on April 26, 2021.

The government pleaded for withdrawing the instant petition, adding that it does not want to pursue the matter further, according to the CMA filed in the court by Advocate-on-Record.

President Dr Arif Alvi had approved the withdrawal of the curative review petition and Civil Miscellaneous Application against Supreme Court Judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa, on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, through Article 48 of the Constitution.

Dr Arif Alvi had also signed his Power of Attorney in favour of Advocate-on-Record (AOR).

In 2021, the then government of Imran Khan filed a curative review petition against the order of the majority in the review petitions of Justice Qazi Faez Isa passed on April 26, 2021. The Registrar of the Supreme Court had returned the instant petition after raising objections to it, saying that once the review petition is decided, it cannot be reviewed again.

Former Vice-Chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council Abid Saqi had stated that there was no provision for a second review under the Constitution, and the Supreme Court of Pakistan had held in many judgments that a second review petition was not maintainable or entertainable. A curative petition may be filed after a review plea against the final conviction is dismissed. It is meant to ensure that there is no miscarriage of justice and is done to prevent the abuse of the process.

The curative petition is about the interpretation of the review petition by the Supreme Court, which is enshrined in Article 137.