Chief justice's reported offer to Malik Riaz angers some journalists

JournalismPakistan.com | Published: 1 January 2019

Chief Justice Saqib Nisar has come under fire for reportedly offering Malik Riaz a clean chit in exchange for Rs500 billion. This incident has raised serious concerns about judicial integrity and conduct during a high-profile hearing.
Summary

ISLAMABAD – A reported comment by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar offering the property tycoon Malik Riaz a clean chit in return for Rs500 billion appeared to rile some journalists.

The dialogue between the CJ and the CEO of Bahria Town took place during the hearing of a fake accounts case on Monday.

According to Dawn, "when the chief justice offered to give Mr. Riaz a clean chit provided he handed over Rs500 billion instead of one trillion rupees, he said he was ready to settle issues but he had earned Rs1000b only in his entire business life of 22 years.”

The News journalist Umar Cheema in a tweet in Urdu termed it an “auction of justice”.

Anchor Imran Khan asked if this was a hearing in a court or a bargain.

What a shameful character this Chief Justice Saqib Nisar is. Is there some judge in Supreme Court who can actually resign in protest against such detestable judicial misconduct shown by this man. How can a judge promise in court a favourable verdict for an amount. #shameFulCJP I https://t.co/g3fayJ8TVl
— Matiullah Jan (@Matiullahjan919) December 31, 2018

However, the harshest comment came from Matiullah Jan. “What a shameful character this Chief Justice Saqib Nisar is. Is there some judge in Supreme Court who can actually resign in protest against such detestable judicial misconduct shown by this man. How can a judge promise in court a favourable verdict for an amount. #shameFulCJP I”.

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