Irked by yet another petition from Shahid Orakzai, the most persistent litigant in the capital city, Chief Justice (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Wednesday barred him from entering the Supreme Court (SC) premises, saying that the "era of false petitions is now over".
Orakzai, a former journalist, had appeared in the SC today to contest an appeal filed by him against the appointment of former Lahore High Court chief justice Mansoor Ali Shah to the SC, but was unable to move Justice Nisar, who told him to get off the rostrum.
"You are a habitual petitioner who insults judges," the CJP declared. "We will not allow judges to be insulted."
Admonishing Orakzai for appearing in court with "false petitions", Justice Nisar remarked that he "brought in a new case every day."
Answering a query by Orakzai, Justice Nisar said he was banned from all SC registries. "In which country?" Orakzai inquired. "In Pakistan, and if you don't get off that rostrum now, I will take a more extreme measure," the CJP warned, visibly angry.
As chief justice of Pakistan, Justice Nisar has the authority to bar a person from entering court premises.
This is not the first time Orakzai, who has a reputation of filing ‘controversial’ petitions, has been in hot water. In 2014, the Islamabad High Court had fined him for "wasting the court's time".
In the same year, Peshawar High Court Justice Yahya Afridi had sentenced the former journalist to 24 hours in prison for scandalising the court after he accused then high court chief justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and former premier Nawaz Sharif of contempt of court.
The allegations were proven to be false, however. When Orakzai refused to withdraw the petition, the court had sentenced him to jail.
