ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) chief justice, Athar Minallah , has suspended the allotment of plots to serving and retired judges and bueaurocrats in posh sectors F’ 14 and F -15 in Islamabad, terming the whole process as gross conflict of interest. The IHC Chief Justice in his order issued here on Friday directed the respondents (Ministry of Housing and the Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF) to restrain to go ahead to implement the allotments of plots to the successful bidders of balloting held on August 15, 2021.
The court in its order noted that the allotment of plots have been made at much lower price than the current market rates and thus each beneficiary has financial interest. Moreover,
astonishingly the list also includes those
judicial officers who have been dismissed on account of misconduct or corruption. The judicial officer who was convicted and sentenced by this court and the conviction was later upheld by the august Supreme Court in the case of a child namely, Tayyaba is also
one of the beneficiaries. The judicial officer who was dismissed on corruption charges in the fake degree case is also an allottee. The names of judicial officers who are under observation for alleged incompetence are also
amongst the fortunate beneficiaries.
The grave violations of constitutionally
guaranteed rights of land owners affected by the inherent coercive power of the State i.e. eminent domain since 1968 have been highlighted in a recent judgment of this Court, dated 16-06-2021, passed in W.P. No.244/2018 titled ‘Noman Ahmed and 14 others v. Capital Development Authority, etc.’
This constitutional petition raises
questions of paramount public importance having consequences for the enforcement and adjudication of rights of the actual
stakeholders of the judicial system i.e. the litigants. This Court as well as the District Courts of Islamabad are inundated with litigation against the Authority. The Authority has created substantial financial interest of
almost every judicial officer of the District Judiciary. It is settled law that every litigant has the right to a fair trial and access to unbiased and independent court. The august
Supreme Court in the case titled ‘Anwr and another v. The Crown’ [PLD 1955 FC 185] has observed and held that “no judge can be a judge in his own cause, or a case in which he is personally interested, not because his decision must invariably be in his own favour
but on the principle that justice must not only be done but seen to be done”. In the case titled ‘Federation of Pakistan v. Muhammad Akram Shaikh, etc.’ [PLD 1989 SC 689] the apex Court has observed and held that “when
pecuniary or financial interest of a Judge, no matter however small, is likely to be affected as a direct result of the decision in any case,
he is ipso facto, disqualified from hearing it,…”. Reliance is placed on the cases titled ‘Asif Ali Zardari and another v. The State’ [PLD
2001 SC 568], ‘Ms Benazir Bhutto v. The
President of Pakistan and another’ [1992
SCMR 140], ‘Government of N.-W.F.P through Chief Secretary and another v. Dr Hussain Ahmad Haroon and others’ [2003 SCMR 104].
The court directed to place the matter before the larger bench for September 19, 2021.