Supreme Court stays IHC order in audio leaks case

Two judges order the IHC to stop further proceedings. The IHC's orders of May 29 and June 25 are beyond its powers, the Supreme Court ruled. Nowadays, every cell phone has a recording system: Judge Amin. Unfortunately, no one in this country wants to find out the truth: Supreme Court.

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan's Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to stay proceedings in the audio leak cases involving the son of former Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar and Bushra Bibi, the wife of PTI founder Imran Khan, until further notice.

The top court also served notices on the respondents in an appeal filed by the federal government against the Islamabad High Court (IHC) order in connection with the alleged audio leaks of Najam us Saqib and Bushra Bibi.

A two-judge bench comprising Justice Amin ud Din Khan and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan heard the case. In its order for the hearing, the Supreme Court said that the Deputy Attorney General had stated that the IHC proceedings were not yet completed. The High Court had exceeded the jurisdiction of Article 199. Two Supreme Court decisions laid down the principle that the High Court cannot issue orders on its own initiative.

The court was informed that the five issues decided in the Supreme Court hearing on May 31 did not pertain to the plaintiffs' case. It was also informed that the Supreme Court could not conduct an investigation.

Deputy Attorney General Aamir Rehman told the court during the hearing that the IHC's May 29 order had barred the agencies from intercepting phone calls and conducting CDR. The order has prevented the institutions from conducting counter-intelligence and arresting terrorists.

The court stated in its order that the IHC order dated May 29, 2024, had been reviewed. This order was not extended in the next court proceedings, hence it will not be stayed, it said.

The court restrained the IHC from taking any further action in the audio leak case, saying that the orders it had passed on May 29 and June 25 were beyond its jurisdiction. It issued notices to the former prime minister's wife, Bushra Bibi, and the former CJP's son, Najam Saqib.

The Federal Government filed the petition on July 5, 2024, stating that the impugned order of the Single Bench of the IHC in WP No. 1805/2023 is illegal and contrary to the law and facts of the case and, therefore, it is untenable and needs to be set aside.

It was argued that the single IHC bench had exceeded its jurisdiction by taking cognizance on its own initiative by constituting a joint committee and, therefore, the impugned order was not legally sustainable and was therefore vulnerable to intervention by the Supreme Court.

Justice Amin asked if the Supreme Court had ascertained who was making the audio recording. The Deputy Attorney General said this had not been ascertained and the investigation was still underway. Justice Naeem said that unfortunately in this country no one wants to find out the truth.

Justice Naeem said that an inquiry commission was formed to find out the truth and that the Supreme Court had granted an interim order. He noted that an inquiry commission was formed to investigate the veracity of the audio leaks but that the court (SC) had to stay the decision on the orders of the former Chief Justice.

Justice Naeem further said that the audio leak case has not been heard since then, adding that Parliament's attempt to find out the truth has also been stopped. “If neither Parliament nor the Supreme Court is allowed to function, how will the truth come out?” the judge asked.

Judge Amin said that the participants in the conversation might have themselves leaked the audio data as every mobile phone nowadays has a recording facility. He added: “Has this aspect been checked? Nowadays every mobile phone has a recording system.”

A single-judge bench headed by Justice Babar Sattar on June 25 rejected the additional attorney general's request to hold a hearing in the plenary hall in the audio leaks case, saying that any interception of telephone conversations without a legal mechanism was illegal.

The single bench of the IHC has erred in law by issuing different directions in the impugned order, going beyond the submissions of the parties. There was no isolated case of such directions before the IHC. It is a settled law of the High Courts that the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to issue a notification on its own initiative under Article 199 of the Constitution.

On 29 April 2023, an alleged audio interview between former Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar's son Najam Saqib and Abuzar, who was given PTI list for PP-137 of Punjab Assembly, went viral on social media and electronic media. When the alleged audio leaks went viral and it was discussed in the National Assembly, the Speaker of the National Assembly took notice and constituted a special committee by circulation dated 02.05.2023 to examine, investigate and investigate the alleged audio leaks of the petitioner (Najam). He then filed a petition in the IHC.

On December 8, 2022, an audio recording of PTI Chairman Zulfi Bukhari was leaked, in which Bushra Bibi, wife of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, is also seen talking about the sale of watches belonging to Imran Khan.