In the ongoing audio leaks case, Justice Sattar of the Islamabad High Court imposed fines of Rs500,000 on three government departments each, while rejecting their petitions related to the bench overseeing the case. The court also indicated the possibility of initiating contempt of court proceedings against officials from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
Separate petitions had been filed by these three departments, along with the Intelligence Bureau, whose Joint Director General Tariq Mehmood has been summoned for the next hearing. Four government departments submitted applications to the IHC, requesting that the case be heard by the same bench that had previously decided a similar issue. They argued that the petitions of Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan, and Najamul Saqib, son of former Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, should also be placed before this bench to ensure consistency in decisions and requested Justice Babar Sattar’s recusal to avoid potential conflicts.
Justice Sattar had been presiding over the petitions since the case emerged in 2023. The government departments contended in their pleas that Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani had previously decided a similar matter in 2021, hence their request for Justice Sattar’s recusal to maintain judicial coherence and uphold justice.
These departments sought Justice Sattar’s recusal following a letter from six IHC judges, including him, addressed to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), expressing concerns about intelligence agencies’ interference in judicial decisions. The judges urged the SJC to convene a judicial convention to address alleged interference or intimidation that undermined the judiciary’s independence.