Islamabad: During the hearing of the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto hanging case, the Chief Justice has remarked that the client cannot be punished for the lawyer’s conduct.
The hearing on the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto reference in the Supreme Court was conducted by a 9-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Qazi Faiz Isa, in which judicial assistant Khalid Javed Khan gave arguments in the court.
The Chief Justice said at the beginning of the hearing that the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto case is the only criminal judgment in history, which consists of 935 long pages. Justice Jamal Khan Mandukhel said that from such a detailed decision, it seems that the judges who gave the decision did not agree with each other, that is why so much detail was written.
The judicial assistant said in arguments that Justice Aftab in the Lahore High Court had said that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was not a good Muslim. The Supreme Court said there is nothing wrong in it, on which the Chief Justice inquired that the court also said this? Where is it written?
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said to show material on the court record which proves that the judges were under pressure or decided on bias. In such a case, it will be said that every case should be opened. Judicial assistant Khalid Javed Khan said that if the judiciary was independent, Bhutto would not have been hanged. The bench that heard the case in the Supreme Court on Bhutto’s appeal also had ad hoc judges.
The Attorney General told the court that a 9-member bench heard the case, later reduced to 7, on which Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that recently the election case was started by a 9-member bench, then 6 remained. Justice Aminuddin Khan said that how could Naseem Hasan Shah handle the case as an ad hoc judge?
The court assistant in his arguments told the court that today we are living in a different era. At that time, thousands of people were put in jails. People were hanged. At that time there was the worst martial law in the country. At that time people were being punished by military courts. Journalists were flogged. My parents were also sentenced by a military court. At that time, he became the Chief Justice of Pakistan. It is important to take into account the circumstances of the time when Bhutto was hanged. The executive was under intense pressure on the judiciary.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah remarked that we are hearing the case under a different jurisdiction. Justice Sardar Tariq Masood said that how can we examine bias without invalidating a judicial decision. Should we annul the judgments of the trial court, the Supreme Court and the revision? How can we move forward without overturning these decisions?
The Chief Justice remarked that if the court makes a mistake, what does Islam say. We must fix the direction. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that Supreme Court judges were not independent, show us that material. Martial law was in force, it is not enough.
The judicial assistant said that it was asked in the reference whether the court decision was correct or not. The Bhutto reference was transferred to the High Court without giving notice to the accused. I have presented examples from different countries, on which the Chief Justice remarked that we do not have such an example. If Parliament wants to make a law, it can make it. We cannot direct Parliament to make any law.
The judicial assistant said that in a judgment written by Justice Athar Minullah, the decision to hang Bhutto was not correct. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that this declaration came again.
After the arguments of the judicial assistant Khalid Javed Khan were completed, the second judicial assistant barrister Salahuddin started his arguments. He said that the president has asked only one question in the reference that the decision to punish Bhutto is legally correct or not.
The Chief Justice said that why are you ignoring one aspect of the biased issue? It may have been thought that if he is not punished, tomorrow he will become a prosecutor and impose Article 6 on us. These things are not in the Bhutto judgment but are a part of history.
Of course some things are part of history, said the court assistant. The difficult thing is to decide which decisions of this period should be retained and which should be abolished. Chief Justice remarked that I solve your problem that we have only one reference. The judicial assistant said that the concern is that this will open the way for more cases from this era to be opened.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that what you are saying is that the judge was not independent, so there was a miscarriage of justice. Referring to Naseem Hasan Shah’s book, he said that in the book, he wrote that Justice Mushtaq Hussain, Chief Justice of Punjab and Attorney General Sharifuddin Pirzada came to meet me. Both asked me to sit in the appeal. Justice Naseem Hasan Shah was hearing a bias plea against the Chief Justice of the Punjab High Court at that time.
The judicial assistant further said that the Chief Justice of the High Court is telling the judge of the Supreme Court to hear the appeal against him.
The Chief Justice said that this was a very inappropriate move by the Chief Justice High Court. This is a bigger issue than Naseem Hasan Shah sitting as an ad hoc judge. The judicial assistant said that yes, if this matter had come to light then, the decision of the Lahore High Court would have been annulled on that basis alone.
The Chief Justice said that there are only two questions before the judge whether a crime has been committed or not. Judges also decide among themselves whether the crime is proved or not. What is your opinion on the death penalty? , to which the judicial assistant replied that the death penalty should be imposed only when all the judges agreed.
The judicial assistant added in his arguments that Justice Naseem Hasan Shah said that no one told us to do this. At the same time, he may talk to the Chief Justice. Then he said, maybe they can ask us directly, so it is better to do it like this.
The Chief Justice inquired that what does it mean to say in direct? , on which the judicial assistant said that I am just pointing out his words. He also referred to Naseem Hasan Shah’s interview with Iftikhar Ahmed. The judicial assistant said that he believed in the interview that the Chief Justice had become enmity with Bhutto. Naseem Hasan Shah said that the sentence could have been reduced, but Bhutto’s lawyer made him angry. Should the judge in the death penalty case punish the lawyer’s behavior? .
The Chief Justice said that the client cannot be punished for the lawyer’s conduct.
Later, the court adjourned the hearing on Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto reference till tomorrow.