The Supreme Court (SC) took suo motu notice on Monday of the letter written by six IHC judges regarding the interference of intelligence agencies in judicial functions. All judges available in the Islamabad principal registry will hear the petition on Wednesday at 11:30 AM. A seven-judge larger bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, comprising Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan will hear the case. It was learnt that being the chairman of the committee, CJP Isa suggested taking the suo motu notice, whereas committee members Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar endorsed his suggestion. The move comes days after the federal government appointed former chief justice of Pakistan Tassaduq Hussain Jillani as the head of an inquiry commission tasked with investigating allegations of intelligence agencies meddling in the affairs of the IHC. The decision to approve the formation of an investigation body and to nominate Jillani as its head was made during a meeting of the federal cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. However, Jillani on Monday recused himself from heading the inquiry commission. “Since the letter is addressed to the members of the Supreme Judicial Council and its chairman the Chief Justice of Pakistan, it would be violative of judicial propriety for me to inquire into a matter which may fall within the jurisdiction of a constitutional body which is the Supreme Judicial Council or the Supreme Court of Pakistan itself,” said the former chief justice in a letter sent to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, dated April 1. Thanking the premier and the cabinet for reposing confidence in him to head the commission, the retired judge stated the terms of the reference for the inquiry are not “strictly” relevant to the subject under consideration. Justice (retd) Jillani further added that the request made in the letter is for an “institutional consultation”, with the terms of the mechanism suggested in the letter. He further added that the letter may not strictly fall within the parameters of Article 209 of the Constitution. “For the afore-referred reasons, I recuse myself to head the commission and proceed with the inquiry. On March 27, six judges of the IHC – Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Saman Rafat Imtiaz – penned a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), expressing their concerns about the “interference” of the intelligence agencies in the affairs of the court. Against the backdrop of escalating clamour for inquiry, CJP Isa convened a full court meeting of the top court judges the next day. During a meeting between PM Shehbaz and CJP Isa, on March 28, it was decided to form a commission following the cabinet’s approval to probe into the concerns raised by the IHC judges. The federal cabinet meeting on March 30 discussed the IHC judges’ allegations and finalized the Terms of Reference (TORs) for the inquiry commission. According to the TORs, the commission will thoroughly investigate the allegations levelled in the letter written by the IHC judges and determine whether they are true. It will also probe whether any official was directly involved in the alleged judicial interference. Despite facing strong reservations from some judges, the SC endorsed the federal government’s proposal for the inquiry commission. However, CJP Isa unequivocally conveyed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that any interference by the executive in the affairs and judicial workings of judges would not be tolerated. He emphasized that under no circumstances would there be any compromise on the independence of the judiciary. The chief justice and the senior puisne judge, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, told PM Shehbaz that the independence of the judiciary was the foundational pillar that “upholds the rule of law and a strong democracy”. Shehbaz, accompanied by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan, visited the Supreme Court on the desire of Chief Justice Isa to address the issue raised by the letter from the IHC judges. The meeting lasted for approximately one and a half hours. During the discussion, it was proposed to establish an inquiry commission under the Pakistan Commissions of Inquiry Act, 2017, to be led by a retired judge of impeccable integrity to investigate the matter. Shehbaz pledged that a federal cabinet meeting would be convened to seek approval for the formation of the inquiry commission.