SC accepts NA Speaker’s appeal for expunging judge’s remarks

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday accepted the appeal of Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf against the observation made by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in its judgment.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, heard the appeal of Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ahsraf seeking to expunge the observation made by the IHC single judge in its judgment against him. During the hearing, Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa remarked if the judges have to give an observation against someone, they should first issue a notice to them.

The chief justice hoped that the judges would be careful in future while giving remarks against somebody in (his/her) absence. He observed that the single judge of the Islamabad High Court had made strict observations against Raja Pervez Ashraf in 2012, while the NAB later claimed that nothing was proved in the NAB inquiry against Pervez Ashraf.

Former judge Islamabad High Court Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui had termed Raja Pervez Ashraf corrupt during the proceedings of Gujar Khan Road contract case in 2012, and ordered the NAB to conduct an inquiry. Later, in the NAB’s inquiry, nothing was proved against Raja Pervez Ashraf. He then approached the Supreme Court for expunging the remarks made against him by the high court judge.