Supreme Court disposes of petitions against Judge Arshad Malik

The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan on Friday announced verdict on Judge Arshad Malik video scandal case.

The verdict was first reserved on August 20 and then announced on Friday by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa.

Three petitions were heard by a three-member bench comprising Justice Khosa, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed.

In the written order, which has been uploaded on the Supreme Court website, the chief justice has raised five issues regarding the case. They are:

(i) Which is the Court or forum that can presently attend to the relevant video for any meaningful consideration in the case of Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif?

(ii) How is the relevant video to be established as a genuine piece of evidence?

(iii) How is the relevant video, if established to be a genuine piece of evidence, to be proved before a court of law?

(iv) What is the effect of the relevant video, if established to be a genuine piece of evidence and if duly proved before the relevant court, upon the conviction of Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif?

(v) The conduct of the learned Judge namely Mr. Muhammad Arshad Malik in the episode.

The order, written by Justice Khosa, says the video matter is the jurisdiction of the Islamabad High Court.

The court is already hearing Nawaz Sharif’s appeal against his conviction and if it chooses, it can make the video admissible as evidence in that case.

This of course depends on whether Nawaz’s lawyers choose to submit it as evidence and are able to verify its authenticity.

The SC stated, “The learned Attorney-General has assured the Court that the said Judge shall be repatriated to the Lahore High Court, Lahore immediately and we expect that after his repatriation appropriate departmental disciplinary proceedings shall be initiated against him by the Lahore High Court, Lahore forthwith.”

“In this view of the matter all these petitions are disposed of with the observations made.”