Daily Times

Justice Qazi Faez Isa on Monday filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking review of its June 19 majority order requiring the verification of three offshore properties in his wife and children’s name by the tax authorities.

Filed through senior counsel Munir A Malik, the petition argued that the top court’s short order had ‘material errors of facts and jurisdiction’. It added that many of these were in respect to matters with regard to which neither Justice Isa nor his family were heard, a private TV channel reported. It also contended that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has initiated proceedings against Justice Isa and his family members without waiting for the top court’s detailed order.

The majority order by seven judges had quashed the presidential reference against Justice Isa but ordered the FBR chairman to furnish a report under his signatures to the secretary of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), containing details of the proceedings conducted by the commissioner inland revenue after seeking an explanation from the wife and children of Justice Isa about the nature and source of the funds used to purchase three properties in the United Kingdom.

On the receipt of the report, the SJC will determine whether to initiate any action/proceedings for the purposes of Article 209 of the Constitution, in its suo motu jurisdiction, the judgement had explained.

“After the reference against the petitioner was quashed, there was no justification to direct initiation of FBR proceedings against his wife and children, give guidance and free licence to the acts of an executive which had admittedly acted unlawfully against the petitioner,” the petition maintained. “Subsequent to the passing of the order, the FBR chairman was ‘unlawfully’ changed. The only reason to act in this manner is to get the desired results from the FBR, which further demonstrates extreme malice.”