SC to hear afresh Panama Papers case in January

CJ says they could have given verdict but want to hear complete viewpoint of all parties; will not sit on bench after Full Court reference; PTI counsel says they will boycott proceedings if commission formed; PM’s counsel says they will follow whatever court decides; JI supports, Sheikh Rashid opposes commission’s formation

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned until January 1, 2017 the hearing into pleas seeking a probe into the PanamaLeaks and disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) objected to the formation of a commission, asking the court to decide the case itself.

A five-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Justice Ameer Hani Muslim, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ejazul Ahsen, heard the petitions, filed by the PTI, Jamaat-e-Islami and others seeking a probe into the PanamaLeaks.

After the court adjourned the hearing till January 1, 2017, a new bench will now be constituted to rehear afresh the matter as Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali is going to retire on December 31.

On the last hearing, the court had inquired from the counsels for the parties about their views for the constitution of a commission to hold an inquiry into the allegations against the respondent, the prime minister of Pakistan.

On Friday, some of the counsels for the petitioners and respondents extended their proposal in favour of the constitution of a commission, while some other petitioners showed their unwillingness, as according to them, the disposal of these proceedings is possible on the basis of material brought on record by them, without holding any further inquiry and probe into the matter.

“Without commenting upon this aspect, hearing of these cases is adjourned to a date in the first week of January, 2017,” the court ruled in its order.The court ruled that these matters shall not be treated as part heard for the reason that by that time, one of the members of this bench (i.e. Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali) will be laying down his robes.

Earlier, when the court resumed the hearing in the matter, the chief justice inquired from Salman Aslam Butt, the counsel for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, as to what were his instructions.

Salman Butt replied that they had decided to follow whatever the court decides. However, he said that the PTI was not interested in the commission. He said that there are strong allegations, which are trialable issues.

The counsel contendedthat nowhere the prime minister’s name had been mentioned in the documents submitted by the PTI.He said that if the court decides to constitute a commission, then they will not object though they have many objections. Salman Aslam Butt claimed there was nothing against the prime minister on the record filed by the petitioners and there are also no allegations directly and indirectly on the record.

Muhammad Akram Sheikh, the counsel for prime minister’s children, told the court that as far as the respondents 7 and 8 (Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz) are concerned, they are overseas Pakistanis.

“We are with this court and we will not stand against the investigation and accept what the court decides,” Sheikh submitted.Naeem Bukhari, the counsel for the PTI, however, stressed the court to itself decide the case, opposing the formation of a commission. He said that if the commission is formed, then they will boycott its proceedings.

Whatever they had brought before the court and after hearing it, it should come to the conclusion that they have made the case or not able to prove the case, then it is also fine, Bukhari contended.

Citing a quote from the book of A K Barohi “Man lives in the womb of time”, the PTI counsel submitted that history judges us all. He recalled that Justice (retd) Sajjad Ali Shah, while writing a dissenting note in a judgment (PLD 1993 SC 474), had said that two prime ministers of Sindh were sacrificed but when the Punjab PM’s turn comes, then don’t know why this changes.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid also requested the bench to decide the matter itself. He said the whole nation was behind the apex court.During the course of hearing, the chief justice explained that the reason for setting up the commission was that they don’t like to listen in the future that if the decision comes against them, then they say they were not given an opportunity.

The commission will give an ample opportunity to all the parties in the case, the CJP said, adding that if they say that the document is not authentic or say that this document is accepted, then other parties would say that they were not given the opportunity to disapprove it.

That’s why they proposed setting up of a commission so that all the parties should be given a proper opportunity, the CJP further elaborated.He said that this is the court of law and they are bound by the law and have to follow it. He said that under Article 184(3), the whole responsibility is on the court, while in the adversarial case the parties have to prove their case. He said that they could have given the verdict but want to hear the complete viewpoint of every party.

Sheikh Rasheed, however, said that they don’t want acommission, adding that the PM’s counsel’s stance is that they could not produce 40 years record. The chief justice, however, questioned as to whether there were allegations that from where the money had come and where it went, then what would be its sentence?

Tariq Asad, another petitioner, said that the court should decide about the constitution of the commission to investigate the matter. The chief justice said that it is their prerogative to form the commission.

Justice Asif Saeed Khan, another member of the bench, observed there is difficulty that they are caught up in the time that the Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali is going to lay down his robes. He said that they have at the best two days before the Full Court Reference and the winter vacation, therefore, they can’t conclude the case in two days and there has to be a judgment on it, which is not going to be easy.It would be better if the hearing is adjourned until the first week of January, 2017, Justice Khosa said.

The chief justice said that he will not sit on the bench after the Full Court Reference as there is no precedence that once a judge lays down his robe, then he sits on the bench, adding that a new bench has to be reconstituted.

Jamaat-e-Islami also supported the constitution of a commission and pleaded the court to formulate the Terms of Reference (TORs) for the commission.Later, the court adjourned the hearing till the first week of January, 2017.