Islamabad: The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) on Tuesday heard three petitions involving the video leak scandal of Accountability Court judge Arshad Malik.

Opposition party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president Maryam Nawaz Sharif on July 6 showed the clip of Malik during a press conference in which the judge can be seen confessing that he gave a guilty verdict to her father, ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, under duress.

The apex court clubbed together all the petitions filed by three lawyers — Ishtiaq Ahmad Mirza, Sohail Akhtar and Tariq Asad — and after hearing their arguments adjourned the hearing until July 23 seeking recommendations by the Attorney General of Pakistan.

The case is drawing both national and international media attention as the same accountability court judge convicted Nawaz Sharif to seven years in prison last December in the Al Azizia reference filed by the National Accountability Court.

The Islamabad High Court took notice of the video leak and has already taken action against Malik and sent him back to his parent department Lahore High Court on July 12.

PML-N leaders are now questioning the legal authenticity of the verdict and demanding the release of their leader from jail.

The judge, however, denies their claims and reiterates he convicted Nawaz Sharif on the basis of evidence.

On Tuesday, the three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa, made it clear that it would see whether the court should interfere in the matter or not. The other two members of the bench are Justice Shaikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Umara Ata Bandial.

“We need to decide a few things first, the judge’s [Malik] misconduct and the need for the apex court to step in,” said the chief justice. He said it was a scandal of unusual nature and needed to be investigated.

The first petitioner, Ishtiaq Ahmad Mirza, a lawyer by profession, has requested the apex court to order an inquiry into the case pertaining to the alleged video. Mirza’s counsel requested the top court to constitute a commission to look into the matter. When the CJP asked who should lead the commission, the counsel replied that a judge should.

Even Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that the judiciary should take notice of the matter, the counsel for the petitioner said.

He said Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s July 6 press conference in which she showed the video has raised a question mark on independence of judiciary. The daughter of the former prime minister says courts are working under pressure and the supreme court should take notice of the matter, he said.

Even other political parties and the public at large are calling for a suo motu on the matter, he said. To this the Chief Justice asked: “If the court does something on the demands of the people, that means we are independent ... A culture is prevailing in the country according to which if one does a bad thing, everyone is thought to be the same.”

The second petitioner, Sohail Akhtar, also presented his arguments before the apex court through his counsel saying the proposed commission should search for the truth and if contempt of court has taken place, action should be taken against those responsible.

He said the judiciary was being mocked because of the statements and counter-statements being made on the matter.

“This is why we are hearing the case,” Khosa responded.

The third petitioner Tariq Asad argued that a forensic audit into the video should be conducted. “Sometimes the judge is going to Jati Umra and sometimes he is meeting others during Umrah,” said Asad, asking where the government and agencies were when the “meetings” were taking place.

Khosa in his remarks said it needed to be seen how a private video of an individual was recorded and how it was made public.

After hearing all the three petitions the Supreme Court seeking Attorney General’s recommendations adjourned hearing until July 23