By Justice Markandey Katju-
(Justice Markandey Katju is a former Judge, Supreme Court of India, and former Chairman, Press Council of India. The views expressed are his own)
In the annals of world judicial history, yesterday’s verdict of the 3 Judge bench of the Pakistan Supreme Court presided over by its Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa upholding the order of the Election Commission of Pakistan ( ECP ) denying former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s PTI party ( which has support of about 90% of Pakistan’s electorate ) the right to have its party symbol in the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Pakistan, will surely go down as one of the blackest judgments.
The verdict will rank among the infamous decision of former Pakistan Chief Justice Munir validating illegal army coups under the specious ‘doctrine of necessity’, the decision of the bench presided over by Lahore High Court Chief Justice Maulvi Mushtaq Husain sentencing Prime Minister Bhutto to death, the judgment of the US Supreme Court in the Dredd Scott case holding that a slave is not a citizen, and in Plessey vs Ferguson laying down the specious doctrine of ‘separate but equal’, the decision of the Indian Supreme Court in ADM Jabalpur vs Shivakant Shukla holding that there is no right to life or liberty during an Emergency, and the judgments of the ‘hanging judge’ of England Judge Jeffreys, or of the Nazi judge Roland Freisler.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7yoFPx74kY
Qazi Faez Isa bears a personal grudge against former Prime Minister Imran Khan as the latter had initiated proceedings against him for corruption before the Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan. After he became the Chief Justice he became a loyal stooge of the Pakistan Establishment ( i.e. the Pakistan army ) which is adamant in not allowing Imran Khan to become Prime Minister again, which he is sure to become if free and fair elections are held. Hence Qazi Faez Isa was sitting with a pre-determined mind, as was obvious from his observations and behaviour in court during the proceedings.
Yesterday’s verdict was in an appeal by the ECP against the judgment of the Peshawar High Court which had set aside the order of the ECP denying the bat symbol to the PTI. I have already explained in the article below that the appeal itself was not maintainable as the ECP could not be said to be personally aggrieved by the verdict of the Peshawar High Court just because its order had been set aside.
https://justicekatju.com/the-appeal-regarding-the-bat-order-fa3f99028fc1
The judgment is based mainly on the ground that the intra-party election of the PTI was not validly held. In fact, it had been held, and Barrister Gohar Khan had been elected its Chairman. It appears that 14 persons complained that they had not been allowed to contest the election. But these persons, though earlier members of the PTI, had been later expelled, and they had obviously been set up.
Qazi Faez Isa has harped on democracy as vital to Pakistan, but he himself seems hell-bent on destroying democracy by not permitting free and fair elections.
There has been a furious reaction all over Pakistan against this verdict. Even outside the Supreme Court building huge crowds gathered there and shouted slogans against it.
Many prominent people, including well-known lawyers and journalists, have strongly criticized the judgment as the death knell of democracy in Pakistan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX38aOO7Nfc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omhRTi1mmvM&t=1742s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GNLGaSk52I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AipjUFkZafI&t=252s&pp=ygUNc29ocmFiIGJhcmthdA%3D%3D
This verdict, which was obviously at the instance of the real ruler of Pakistan, i.e,. its army is the last nail in the coffin of democracy in Pakistan.
