Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
In a powerful reflection on judicial integrity and the meaning of impartial justice, Supreme Court judge Muhammad Ali Mazhar has observed that where there is an actual probability of bias, a judge must step aside, not as an admission of prejudice, but to protect public confidence in the justice system.
The observation forms part of a 24-page opinion authored by Justice Mazhar in the presidential reference concerning the murder case of former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
The opinion revisits the historic verdict through the lens of due process, natural justice and institutional credibility, while stressing that even the appearance of bias can corrode the foundations of justice.
“When there is an actual probability of bias, the judge ought to recuse themselves, not because they are necessarily biased or incapable of dispensing justice impartially, but because the circumstances might engender a certain restlessness or fear of bias influencing the outcome of a case in the mind of others,” the opinion states.
In March 2024, a nine-member larger bench led by then Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, while answering a presidential reference, unanimously ruled that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto did not receive a fair trial or due process.
Justice Mazhar noted that Bhutto was awarded the maximum sentence solely on the testimony of an approver, without any concrete incriminating or corroborative or circumstantial evidence.
“The bench’s approach was unique and, even without considering any mitigating circumstances, appeared predetermined or prejudiced to impose the maximum punishment in a highly dubious case.”
