ISLAMABAD - Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali will retire today on attaining the age of superannuation.
Jamali who remained the chief justice of Pakistan for 15 months laid down the robes of his office on December 15.
During the 15-month tenure, Justice Jamali headed various benches which heard important cases, including the Panama leaks, a review petition on hunting of houbara bustard, delay in holding census, appeals against the death sentences awarded by military courts etc. He also authored judgments on the death sentence of a schizophrenic convict, State vs Rashmali Khan, Ali Muhammad vs Syed Bibi and dismissed an election petition of PTI candidate Usman Dar against Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.
Talking to The Nation, Supreme Court Bar Association President Rasheed A Rizvi said: “Justice Jamali has done full justice to the people of Pakistan, particularly those of Hyderabad.” He has been very firm, but extremely polite to both the lawyers and litigants, he said.
Pakistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Farogh Naseem said Justice Jamali’s services to the bar will always be remembered. “It is a remarkable career for a man who started his practice in Hyderabad district courts and eventually retired as the CJP,” he averred.
Justice Jamali lost no opportunity to pass comments on the pathetic condition of the state, corruption and the incompetence rampant in the state institutions. He was the first chief justice to have addressed the Senate on November 3, 2015.
Justice Jamali also took suo motu notice of many issues involving public importance with reference to the enforcement of fundamental rights under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, major among them related to illegal appointments, promotions and adjustments without any advertisement/interview on the basis of bogus service structure in the health department of Sindh, payment of Rs 500 million fee to various advocates by EOBI to defend its ex-chairman Zafar Iqbal Gondal, failure of PIA to refund fares to passengers when flights had been cancelled due to strike against its privatisation; cutting of trees in Marghala Hills and Lora (KP) by stone-crushing mafia, pneumonia and hepatitis-C, miserable condition of Sandeman Provincial Hospital, Quetta, political influence and interference with the working of Sindh police; deputation of police officers in FIA, poor performance of constitutional duty by the Election Commission of Pakistan; illegal transplantation of human organs; abduction of children in Punjab, illegalities, contraventions and violation in appointments within NAB and the plea bargain by the NAB chairman.
A five-judge bench, headed by Justice Jamali on January 22, allowed the hunting of ‘vulnerable migratory bird – houbara bustard. It set aside a judgment, passed by a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Jawwad S Khawaja on August 19, 2015. Justice Dost Muhammad who was a member of a three-judge bench was not included in the larger bench that heard the review petitions.
A five-member larger bench headed by Justice Jamali on February 15 discharged a contempt case against former interior minister Rehman Malik for transferring FIA DG who was probing the Pakistan Steel Mills corruption case.