- This will be the first meeting of the SJC under CJP Isa.
- The SJC is the only constitutional forum that has the power to remove judges.
- Dozens of complaints were filed against High Court judges.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faiz Isa has called a meeting of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) at 11.30 am on Friday (tomorrow) to discuss the complaints filed against senior court judges including Justice Syed Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi.
This will be the first meeting of the SJC under CJP Isa and was convened after a gap of more than 3 years.
Headed by CJP Isa, the SJC also includes two senior judges of the apex court – Justice Tariq Masood and Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan.
The SJC is the only constitutional forum that has the power to remove judges of high courts on various charges.
Apart from Justice Naqvi, complaints were filed against other judges of the apex court.
The apex judicial forum will likely consider the complaint against Justice Naqvi in its meeting tomorrow.
Justice Masood, a senior Supreme Court judge and member of the SJC, had presented his legal opinion on the misconduct complaints filed against Justice Naqvi of the top court in September this year. news,
Several misconduct complaints were filed against Justice Naqvi during the tenure of former Chief Justice Omar Ata Bandial. Justice (retd) Bandial had referred the matter to Justice Tariq Masood to examine the matter and give his legal opinion.
Initially, the misconduct complaint against Justice Naqvi was filed in the SJC by Lahore-based lawyer Muhammad Dawood. Later, Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) also announced to file a complaint against the senior judge.
PBC vice-chairman Haroon Rasheed filed a misconduct complaint against a Supreme Court judge after an audio leak surfaced in which he allegedly had a conversation with former Punjab chief minister Pervez Elahi about scheduling the case before a special bench or judge. Was shown.
The SJC, a forum for accountability of high court judges and top government officials, consists of five members, including the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court and the two senior-most chief justices of high courts.
Earlier in April, senior Supreme Court judges Justice Isa and Justice Masood had urged then CJP Bandial to convene a meeting of the SJC to consider the misconduct complaints filed against Justice Naqvi.
In a joint letter addressed to all members of the SJC, the two judges had said that they “look forward to you convening a meeting of the Council to consider the complaints and ascertain whether there is any substance in the alleged allegations; We have to acquit the respondent judge and fully restore his honor or submit our report as per the Constitution.
Both senior judges said written complaints had been received, including from the Pakistan Bar Council, accusing Justice Naqvi of misconduct and financial irregularities.
He said Article 209 of the Constitution establishes the SJC and the council should investigate the competence and misconduct of a judge. “Leaving the respondent judge in a cloud of uncertainty undermines both his reputation and that of the judiciary. “People’s confidence in the integrity and independence of the judiciary requires us to proceed without further delay,” Justice Isa and Justice Masood wrote.
