ISLAMABAD     -    The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Monday chal­lenged the judicial commission, formed to in­vestigate the recent audio leaks, in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan filed the petition and questioned whether the federal government could select a judge of a superior court on its own, to sit in any judicial commission without the prior ap­proval of the chief justice. He said that the only fo­rum to investigate, proceed against a judge is Su­preme Judicial Council (SJC).

The PTI requested that the top court to declare the government’s notification for the constitution of judicial commission as ultra vires to the Consti­tution. It further prayed that a judicial commission may kindly be constituted in the light of judgment passed by the SC regarding the illegal phone tap­ping…to meet the interest of justice.

It asked, “Whereas under the Supreme Court judgment, the only thing left for determination is, that under what authority of law a telephone con­versation of a judge of a superior court, a prime minister or their families, parliamentarians and political workers of a party duly registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan…can be tapped and what are the consequence of such un­constitutional and illegal phone tapping?”

It questioned that whether the act of creating the commission did not amount to a confession by a sitting regime that under their nose by tele­phone tapping, fundamental rights as given under Article 4, 9 and 19 are not violated.

The plea continued that the self styled terms of reference (TORs) framed” by the govern­ment were politically motivated [and] aimed at effecting the independence of the judiciary and the institution.