Justice Faez Isa case: SC adjourns review pleas on petitioners’ request

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned until third week of November the review petitions against the order passed by the 10-member full court dated June 19, 2020 to the extent of direction given to Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) after the court squashed the presidential reference filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

A seven-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik, Justice Faisal Arab, Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed heard the review petitions filed by Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and others.

Justice Umar Ata Bandial said the counsels for the petitioners have sought time for updating their petitions as well as making preparation for the case that’s why they accept the plea and adjourn the matter so that the counsels make preparation.

On October 23, a 10-member full court headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial issued a detailed judgment and had held that the presidential reference filed against the judge had multiple defects for which it was quashed.

Seven judges of the full court had referred the matter to the FBR, directing it to initiate tax proceedings against spouse and children of Justice Qazi Faez Isa. They had directed the Inland Commissioner Revenue to issue notices within seven days to the spouse and children of Justice Faez Isa, seeking their explanation regarding source of funds for acquiring properties in United Kingdom.

Later on bar associations and bar councils and others had filed review petitions, seeking suspension of the order to the extent of direction given to the FBR after the Full Court squashed the presidential reference filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa. They had prayed the court to suspend the operation of the impugned order to the extent of paragraphs 3-11 till the final adjudication of the review petition.