Nasim Hasan Shah
Encyclopedia
Born in Lahore
on April 15, 1929 to Syed Mohsin Shah, an eminent advocate and political activist, Justice
Dr
. Nasim Hasan Shah, a former Chief Justice of Pakistan, gained international respect and recognition when he restored the sovereignty of the Parliament in Pakistan; the first such instance in the country's turbulent constitutional history. The Supreme Court held that dissolution order was based on an incorrect appreciation of the role assigned to the president and of the powers vested in him by the constitution. The Prime Minister is not answerable to the President. In fact, it is the president who is obliged to act on the advice of the Prime Minister except when he enjoys discretionary powers.
An inspiring man physically 56 inches tall and 50 inches in girth, he overcame his handicap to become the Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
from April 17, 1993 to April 14, 1994.After a brilliant academic career and a Doctorate of Law (with distinction) from Paris University, he had a successful legal practice when he was appointed a High Court Judge at the age of 39, and retired from Supreme Court at 65, the longest tenure by any judge in the history of the Indo-Pak subcontinent.
was filed, seeking registration of a case against him on charges of abetting in the "murder" of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
.
A division bench comprising Justices Sheikh Abdur Rashid and Bilal Khan held that the petition hardly qualified for processing because the judge of a bench could not be proceeded against in a case which had already been decided.
The members of the bench felt that petitioner Mian Mohammad Hanif Tahir of the People's Lawyers Forum(PLF) was hardly prepared to address legal aspects of the case and questions arising out of the petition. Instead, he was agitating legal points in a political manner.
One member of the bench remarked;
(PLF) leader Hanif Tahir had quoted the former chief justice as saying in two of his press interviews that the Supreme Court judgment in the appeal of the late Bhutto against his death sentence awarded by the Lahore High Court, was a wrong decision and it was a fit case for lesser punishment.
The petitioner submitted that Mr Shah was part of the 7-member bench of the Supreme Court which upheld the death penalty. He contended that comments of the former chief justice amounted to a confessional statement and that he had shown no such sentiments while agreeing with the majority opinion of apex court's bench which confirmed the execution of Mr Bhutto.
When the proceedings began, the petitioner requested the court that a larger bench be constituted to hear the case which was of paramount importance. Rejecting the request, the court informed Mr Tahir that petitions seeking registration of FIRs were usually heard by a single bench. It was because of the nature of case that the chief justice had constituted a division bench.
Later, the petitioner requested for time to collect evidence and sought an adjournment. The court refused to do so and directed him to argue his case as he should have gathered evidence before coming to the court.
The petitioner started with quotes from the interview of Mr Shah. The court asked him if such quotes, taken from a television interview, carried any legal significance. When the petitioner submitted that the text of interview was a "public document", the court asked the lawyer to define the legality of public documents and remarked that points raised in the petition were based on hearsay.
As for petitioner's contention that Mr Shah had made a confessional statement in his interview, the court directed him to examine the relevant law to know what a confessional statement was and if it carried a legal weight if given on a non-judicial or extrajudicial forum. He must also differentiate between a press statement and a legal statement recorded in a court of law.
The bench of the Lahore High Court on February 12, 2004 dismissed in limina.
On February 25, 2010, President Asif Ali Zardari
said in Quetta
: "I believe former Justice Naseem Hassan Shah as the murderer of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto."http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=1024882&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=
’s appeal, that he had joined the rejectionists under pressure. The decision led to the execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
.
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
on April 15, 1929 to Syed Mohsin Shah, an eminent advocate and political activist, Justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
Dr
Doctor (title)
Doctor, as a title, originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb docēre . It has been used as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the university. This use spread...
. Nasim Hasan Shah, a former Chief Justice of Pakistan, gained international respect and recognition when he restored the sovereignty of the Parliament in Pakistan; the first such instance in the country's turbulent constitutional history. The Supreme Court held that dissolution order was based on an incorrect appreciation of the role assigned to the president and of the powers vested in him by the constitution. The Prime Minister is not answerable to the President. In fact, it is the president who is obliged to act on the advice of the Prime Minister except when he enjoys discretionary powers.
An inspiring man physically 56 inches tall and 50 inches in girth, he overcame his handicap to become the Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
Supreme Court of Pakistan
The Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...
from April 17, 1993 to April 14, 1994.After a brilliant academic career and a Doctorate of Law (with distinction) from Paris University, he had a successful legal practice when he was appointed a High Court Judge at the age of 39, and retired from Supreme Court at 65, the longest tenure by any judge in the history of the Indo-Pak subcontinent.
Education
- Early schooling Cathedral School Lahore: 1933 to 1941 Central Model School, Lahore passing Matriculation in FIRST Division
- Joined Government CollegeGovernment CollegeGovernment College refers to various colleges.* Government College University, Lahore, is probably the most frequent college referred to by this name. It may also refer to:* Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, India* Darjeeling Government College...
, Lahore in 1943 graduating from it in 1947. Awarded: Academic Roll of Honor - Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from University of the PunjabUniversity of the PunjabUniversity of the Punjab , colloquially known as Punjab University, is located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The University of the Punjab is the oldest and biggest University of Pakistan. The University of the Punjab was formally established with the convening of the first meeting of its...
, 1949 (FIRST Class) - Master in Arts (M.A.)in Political Science, Government CollegeGovernment CollegeGovernment College refers to various colleges.* Government College University, Lahore, is probably the most frequent college referred to by this name. It may also refer to:* Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, India* Darjeeling Government College...
, 1951 (FIRST Class First) - Doctorate in Jurisprudence “Docteur-en-droit” with mention “Tres Bien" from University of ParisUniversity of ParisThe University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
(SorbonneSorbonneThe Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
) - Doctorate in Political Science:“Institute Des Hautes Etudes Internationales” (FIRST Position) from University of ParisUniversity of ParisThe University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, 1954 - Diploma of the Hague Academy of International LawHague Academy of International LawThe Hague Academy of International Law is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, The Netherlands...
, 1954 - Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
International Law Seminar, 1957
Distinctions
- Named “Man of the Decade” for services to Democracy and Rule of LawRule of lawThe rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
by the American Pakistan Alliance, Washington D.C. 26 September 1993 - Named as one of Pakistan’s nominees on the Permanent Court of ArbitrationPermanent Court of ArbitrationThe Permanent Court of Arbitration , is an international organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands.-History:The court was established in 1899 as one of the acts of the first Hague Peace Conference, which makes it the oldest institution for international dispute resolution.The creation of...
at the Hague in 1959 and continued till 1977 - Worked as Editor Supreme Court Reports from 1960 to 1963
- Elected as Member of the West Pakistan Bar Council in 1964 and of the Pakistan Bar Council in 1966
- Elevated as Judge of the High Court of West Pakistan on 11 March 1968
- Appointed Judge (Ad-hoc) Supreme Court of PakistanSupreme Court of PakistanThe Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...
on 18 May 1977 being the YOUNGEST in history of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Made permanent Judge of the Supreme Court on 14 June 1979 - Elected President SAARCLAW (Pakistan) January 1992 and President SAARCLAW for entire Saarc Region (1993–1995), Patron Saarc Law: 1997
- President of B.C.C.P. 1992 to 1994
- Appointed Chief Justice of Pakistan and Chairman Pakistan Law Commission on 26 April 1993.
- Elected President “Markazzia Majilis-i-Iqbal” (The Central Iqbal Committee): 21 April 1994
- Elected President “Quaid-e-Azam Forum” 3 June 1994
- Elected Chairman Electric Power Forum, 1996
- Elected President Old Ravians Association, 1997
- Appointed Visiting Professor at the Kulliyah of Laws, International Islamic University MalaysiaInternational Islamic University MalaysiaThe International Islamic University Malaysia , also known as IIUM or UIAM, is a public publicly-funded university in Malaysia. Its main campus is located in Gombak, Selangor with its situated in Petaling Jaya / Nilai and its medical-centric branch in Kuantan, Pahang. The university is sponsored...
to deliver a course of lectures on the Islamisation of Laws in Pakistan (1997) - Designated Founding Chairman of The Citizens Media Commission, 1998
- Elected President of Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-IslamAnjuman-i-Himayat-i-IslamAnjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam , launched in Lahore in 1884. One of its major efforts was the setting up of a number of schools for Muslim girls and orphanages in the Punjab, where girls were taught Urdu and the Qur’an, as well as mathematics, needlework and crafts...
(Association for the Service of Islam),1998
Bhutto Case Controversy
Perhaps the only time in Pakistans’ Judicial History that a petition against a Former Chief Justice of Supreme Court of PakistanSupreme Court of Pakistan
The Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...
was filed, seeking registration of a case against him on charges of abetting in the "murder" of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
.
A division bench comprising Justices Sheikh Abdur Rashid and Bilal Khan held that the petition hardly qualified for processing because the judge of a bench could not be proceeded against in a case which had already been decided.
The members of the bench felt that petitioner Mian Mohammad Hanif Tahir of the People's Lawyers Forum(PLF) was hardly prepared to address legal aspects of the case and questions arising out of the petition. Instead, he was agitating legal points in a political manner.
One member of the bench remarked;
- In a situation where the judgment of a case was effective for citation as a reference, an ambiguous statement of one of the members of a panel of judges hearing the case, could in no way prejudice the decision after two decades. If such things were allowed to happen, the whole judicial system would collapse.
(PLF) leader Hanif Tahir had quoted the former chief justice as saying in two of his press interviews that the Supreme Court judgment in the appeal of the late Bhutto against his death sentence awarded by the Lahore High Court, was a wrong decision and it was a fit case for lesser punishment.
The petitioner submitted that Mr Shah was part of the 7-member bench of the Supreme Court which upheld the death penalty. He contended that comments of the former chief justice amounted to a confessional statement and that he had shown no such sentiments while agreeing with the majority opinion of apex court's bench which confirmed the execution of Mr Bhutto.
When the proceedings began, the petitioner requested the court that a larger bench be constituted to hear the case which was of paramount importance. Rejecting the request, the court informed Mr Tahir that petitions seeking registration of FIRs were usually heard by a single bench. It was because of the nature of case that the chief justice had constituted a division bench.
Later, the petitioner requested for time to collect evidence and sought an adjournment. The court refused to do so and directed him to argue his case as he should have gathered evidence before coming to the court.
The petitioner started with quotes from the interview of Mr Shah. The court asked him if such quotes, taken from a television interview, carried any legal significance. When the petitioner submitted that the text of interview was a "public document", the court asked the lawyer to define the legality of public documents and remarked that points raised in the petition were based on hearsay.
As for petitioner's contention that Mr Shah had made a confessional statement in his interview, the court directed him to examine the relevant law to know what a confessional statement was and if it carried a legal weight if given on a non-judicial or extrajudicial forum. He must also differentiate between a press statement and a legal statement recorded in a court of law.
The bench of the Lahore High Court on February 12, 2004 dismissed in limina.
On February 25, 2010, President Asif Ali Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari is the 11th and current President of Pakistan and the Co-Chairman of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party . He is also the widower of Benazir Bhutto, who served two nonconsecutive terms as Prime Minister....
said in Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
: "I believe former Justice Naseem Hassan Shah as the murderer of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto."http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=1024882&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=
Pakistan Cricket Board President
Justice Nasim Hasan Shah has remained President of the Board between 1993 and 1994 and during his tenure an ad-hoc committee was placed on the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) whose affiliation with the Board had been suspended after the shock confession in a television interview by Dr Nasim Hasan Shah, a member of the Supreme Court bench which rejected Zulfikar Ali BhuttoZulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
’s appeal, that he had joined the rejectionists under pressure. The decision led to the execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
.
The Citizen's Media Commission of Pakistan
Dr. Nasim Hasan Shah was the founding Chairman of the CommissionMarkazzia Majilis-i-Iqbal (The Central Iqbal Committee)
Elected President following his time as Chief Justice of The Supreme CourtPublished works
- Constitution, Law and Pakistan Affairs (1986) [ISBN 0-19-577469-8]
- Law, Justice and Islam (1989)
- Judgement on the Constitution, Rule of Law and Martial Law in Pakistan (1993) [ISBN 0-19-577469-8]
- Constitution, Law and Pakistan Legal System (1999)
- Memoirs and Reflections [ISBN 969-516-076-X]
See also
- Chief Justices of PakistanChief Justices of PakistanThe Chief Justice of Pakistan heads the Supreme Court of Pakistan. These are the names of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan .-List:-See also:* Supreme Court of Pakistan* Pakistan Bar Council...
- Supreme Court of PakistanSupreme Court of PakistanThe Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...
- List of Kashmiris
- List of Pakistanis