The Supreme Court on Monday suspended the Islamabad High Court (IHC)’s orders in the audio leaks case and barred the court from taking any further action.
A two-member bench comprising Justices Aminuddin Khan and Naeem Akhtar Afghan issued the order. It also nullified the IHC’s orders of May 29 and June 25, declaring they were beyond its ambit. On May 29, IHC’s Justice Babar Sattar had barred telecommunication companies from recording phone calls and data for surveillance purposes; this as subsequently reversed to allow the companies to share with police data related to suspects under investigation in criminal cases. On June 25, the court had ruled that phone tapping without relevant laws was “illegal.”
The audio leaks case pertains to petitions filed by Bushra Bibi, wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, and Najam Saqib, the son of former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar. Both had their alleged phone conversations leaked on social media last year and had sought to prevent the government from investigating their provenance.
In July, the federal government had challenged the IHC’s June 25 order in the Supreme Court, arguing it had granted relief that was not even sought. The government further argued that the IHC’s demand for reports from institutions was overstep of its authority, adding the high court cannot conduct fact-finding.
“The IHC’s orders of May 29 and June 25 are beyond its authority,” ruled the two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, adding the court was “not authorized to take suo moto notices.” It also issued notices to Bushra and Saqib, and sought the complete records of the audio leaks case.
During today’s hearing, Justice Khan asked Additional Attorney General Munawar Iqbal Duggal whether the IHC had determined who had recorded the calls. In response, Duggal said the investigation was ongoing and nothing had as-yet been determined. “Unfortunately in this country, no one wants to get to the truth,” Justice Afghan lamented, recalling an inquiry commission formed to investigate the veracity of the audios was prevented from working on stay orders of former chief justice Umar Ata Bandial.
“Until today, a date has not been appointed again in the Supreme Court for the audio leaks case,” Justice Afghan noted. “When Parliament tried to find out the truth, it was also blocked,” he continued. “If both Parliament and the court are not allowed to work, how will the truth come to light?” he questioned.
Justice Khan, meanwhile, questioned whether any probe was conducted into whether one of the people conversing in the leaked audios had leaked them. Noting that every mobile phone has recording capabilities, he questioned why their phones had not been summoned for further investigations. The case was then adjourned indefinitely.