ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court here Friday dismissed a plea for a bar on inquiry by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Education into reported award of extra marks to a daughter of the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
The apex court also vacated a stay granted earlier by SC Justice Zawwar Hussain Jafferi against proceedings of the committee in the case.
A three-member bench comprising Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar, Justice M Javed Buttar and Justice Chaudhry Ejaz Yousuf observed that the plea was premature and the petitioner should have approached the Islamabad High Court first.
The bench observed that on technical grounds too the apex court could not entertain the plea as it had not received any written verdict from the Islamabad High Court over a similar petition dismissed by it on December 4 after observing verbally that it could not bar the NA body on Education from its proceedings.
Another observation of the bench was that parliamentary bodies were independent constitutional bodies working under the Chairman Senate and Speaker National Assembly and the power to bar their proceedings lay with Speaker of the National Assembly and Chairman of the Senate.
Raja Abdur Rehman, counsel for Shamshad Ahmed, former chairman Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, apprised the bench that he had filed similar pleas with the Registrar office of IHC which were turned down.
The bench said that the concerned clerks in the office could not act like judges. If they had turned down his request, the counsel for the petitioner should have put his case before the Chief Justice of IHC.
The bench said that it was the sole prerogative of courts to decide merits of a plea.
About a point raised by the petitioner, Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar said that Article 68 dealt with conduct of the judges and their duties while the case being probed by the NA body was of a different nature.
Justice M. Javed Buttar remarked that the petitioner should not seek its observation over the matter further.
To a query by the bench about written orders of IHC about the writ, Attorney General Sardar Latif Khosa replied that he had not received any written verdict.
Agha Tariq, legal advisor of FBISE, apprised the court that all the relevant record was submitted to the IHC which had sealed it and the hearing of the case would be held on January 13.
The petitioner had prayed that the National Assembly Standing Committee on Education through its chairman be pleaded as party and the said committee and all other forums should be restrained from taking any action or holding proceedings whatsoever till the disposal of the matter by the apex court as well as the Islamabad High Court. |
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment