Amidst a rising crescendo of the full court, Faisal Chaudhry from the PTI’s legal team said that so far no one has given a reason for such a demand.

“Yesterday, the attorney general did not oppose this bench inside the court. Neither the PML-N lawyer nor PPP counsel said that we don’t trust you [the bench],” he said at Shaukat Piracaha show Rubaroo on Saturday. “Even if they say this, there is no logic [in this demand] as the three judges were part of the same bench whose ruling led to the formation of this government,” he added.

The incumbent government came into power after former prime minister Imran Khan lost a no-confidence vote on April 9. The high-drama National Assembly session began voting after a five-member bench led by CJP Umar Ata Bandial set aside on April 7, 2022 the-then deputy speaker’s ruling to dismiss the no-trust resolution against former PM Imran Khan and the subsequent dissolution of the National Assembly by the president on the premier’s advice.

“That bench and this bench were also formed by the CJP. The court is being dragged on a political basis,” the PTI lawyer said.

Chaudhry has joined the Aaj News show to speak on the developments after a couple of judges left the five-member bench formed by CJP Umar Ata Bandial to hear the PTI’s petition challenging the ECP’s decision to postpone the Punjab Assembly elections from April 30 to October 8.

Monday’s sun would “rise with good news,” according to the remarks of CJP Bandial during the hearing on Friday. The chief justice, who got emotional, suggested dialogue between the PTI and the government.

But the ruling coalition has stuck to its demand for a full court as it plans to curtail the powers of the chief justice to form a bench and take suo motu. The draft bill awaits assent from the president to become law.

According to PTI’s Chaudhry, the CJP “brilliantly” answered the government’s alleged propaganda against the judiciary. The chief justice the other day defended the inclusion of Justice Mazahar Ali in the bench, saying that the reason for it was to “give a silent message”.

The statement came after a leaked audio conversation, purportedly between Justice Naqvi and Parvez Elahi. The former Punjab chief minister apparently wanted the case to be fixed before.

Chaudhry went on to say that the CJP could give such remarks as he was the head of the institution, however, he negated the statement that judges’ internal matters were made public by the media. Unfortunately, the PTI leader said that judges have made it public, media just reported it.

He then quoted CJP remarks from the hearing to support his argument. “Without naming Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the CJP said that we suffered when the full court sat to try our brother judge. We were punished and the judge was punished — an incident which left scars. No one bothers about this institution to realise how much we suffered. Now again a political battle is going on and other colleagues are being disputed on the basis of hearsay when we should bridge the gap and in many respect we all judges are united and will remain united. There are audio-video leaks and we are again being asked to butcher another brother. We have picked the finest judges who were giving excellent judgements.”

The CJP was defending his institution by supporting his judges, the PTI lawyer added.

Chaudhry was joined by PML-N leader Malik Rafiq Rajwana, Justice (retd) Shaiq Usmani, and former Punjab governor Sardar Latif Khosa on the show.

Khosa was of the view that CJP Bandial spoke about the beauty of democracy by speaking to lawmakers, who were in captivity in the past. He added that the chief justice was simply stressing the need for resolving issues through talks so that the country comes out of the crisis.

PML-N’s Rajwana believed that every person has their own interpretation. He lamented that the rising polarisation has decreased respect and harmony, saying that it should end.

But, Justice (retd) Usmani said that judges should abstain from giving such remarks in court—a trend which according to him started when Iftikhar Chaudhry was at the helm.

He went on to say that going to jail was considered to be an achievement in the country. “The SC has a discipline by which it runs. Apparently, this discipline is breaking down. Yes everyone has the right to give their judgement but the way it is happening… It should be stopped I think our judges’ committee should have a discussion and bring changes to its rules or else the SC’s respect and stature will be harmed. It was better to form a full bench to avoid any criticism.”

“This is our misfortune that no one has learned from history,” Khosa, who belongs to the PPP, said.

When asked about the activist Imaan Mazari’s tweet that the teary-eyed CJP was concerned about the power, he said that the whole nation should be in the same state amid the ongoing crisis.

Imaan, the daughter of former human rights minister Shireen Mazari, claimed that CJP Bandial got emotional when questions were raised on his impartial use of powers.

“We should be ashamed of what are we doing. Divisions have always been in the court and a dissenting note is a routine,” he said.