No audio leak commission: Supreme Court suspends govt notification

In a significant development, the Supreme Court issued an order on Friday, suspending the operation of the federal government’s notification regarding the constitution of a judicial panel to investigate audio leaks which included alleged calls made to judges or by their families, that have emerged on social media over the past few months.

The top court also prohibited the commission from conducting further proceedings.

Last week, the federal government formed the judicial commission to probe leaked audio clips allegedly involving some current and former members of the superior judiciary and their family members to determine their “veracity” and “impact on the independence of the judiciary”.

The government said the audio leaks raised serious apprehensions about the independence of the judiciary in the public interest.