Staff Reporter
Islamabad
The Supreme Court on Friday wrapped up petitions filed in the videogate scandal involving the accountability court judge who had convicted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia corruption reference.
In a press conference in July, Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Maryam Nawaz had shared a video containing an alleged confession by judge Arshad Malik that he was ‘pressurised’ and ‘blackmailed’ to give a decision against the former premier.
Malik later denied the allegations in a letter to the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court.
Following the revelation, several petitions were filed in the apex court requesting the court to form a probe committee or a judicial commission to investigate the matter.
A three-member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed heard the petitions.
“The relevant video cannot be of any legal benefit to Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif unless it is properly produced before the Islamabad High Court, Islamabad in the pending appeal, its genuineness is established and then the same is proved in accordance with the law for it to be treated as evidence in the case,” reads the judgment.
“It must never be lost sight of that the standard of proof required in a criminal case is beyond reasonable doubt and any realistic doubt about an audio tape or video not being genuine may destroy its credibility and reliability,” the judgment notes.
“In the end, we find that it may not be an appropriate stage for this Court to interfere in the matter of the relevant video and its effects, particularly when the said video may have relevance to a criminal appeal presently sub judice before the Islamabad High Court, Islamabad,” adds the verdict.
“A criminal investigation is already being conducted into the matter by the Federal Investigation Agency, some other offences or illegalities under some other laws referred to by the learned Attorney-General might also entail inquiries or investigations by the competent agencies or fora and any probe into the matter by a Commission to be constituted by the Government or by this Court may end up only with an opinion which may have no relevance or admissibility in the relevant appeal pending before the Islamabad High Court, Islamabad. In this view of the matter, all these petitions are disposed of with the observations made above.”
On Malik, the judgment observed that “his admitted conduct emerging from that press release and the affidavit stinks and the stench of such stinking conduct has the tendency to bring a bad name to the entire judiciary as an institution”.
“His sordid and disgusting conduct has made the thousands of honest, upright, fair and proper Judges in the country hang their heads in shame.”
“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,” stated the judgment referring to Judge Malik. eral Investigation Agency.
