Tag: judiciary

  • Legal fraternity criticises Justice Naqvi’s resignation over expected perks

    Legal fraternity criticises Justice Naqvi’s resignation over expected perks

    Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, who has been facing allegations of misconduct, has resigned from the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday. The esteemed justice cited circumstances that had become “a matter of public knowledge” as the reason behind his resignation.

    The resignation letter, obtained by Dawn.com, was formally addressed to President Dr. Arif Alvi. Justice Naqvi expressed gratitude for the honor of serving as a judge, both in the Lahore High Court and later in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

    “In the circumstances, which are a matter of public knowledge and to some extent public record, it is no longer possible for me to continue to serve as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan,” stated Justice Naqvin

    Acknowledging the importance of due process, he added, “Considerations of due process also compel. I, therefore, effective today, resign as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.”

    Mian Dawood, a Lahore-based lawyer, one of the complainants against Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, declared the resignation a win for lawyers and asserted that they would challenge his resignation in the Supreme Court.

    Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) leader Khwaja Asif demanded that assets of the judge and his children should be investigated in the same manner as is done for politicians.

    Lawyer Abdul Moiz Jaferii took tok X (former Twitter) and said, “This resignation should be rejected. He should face the SJC and the truth should out. If he is guilty of the accusations against him, he should not have the choice to take a million rupee a month pension off into the sunset like other supposedly compromised agents before him.”

    Lawyer Nighat Dad also criticised the move and said, “Pakistanis should only focus on the perks #JusticeMazaharAkbarNaqvi he and his family will be enjoying from our tax money after resignation. His pension amount will be determined on the basis of years of service. He will have one driver and one orderly. A police guard at residence. 300 free local calls, 2000 units of electricity, 25 HM of gas, water and 300 litres of petrol per month.”

    Journalist Matiullah Jan also questioned the merits of resignation.

    The Case

    In October last year, the SJC had issued a show-cause notice to Justice Naqvi in connection with 10 complaints lodged against him and directed the judge to submit a reply within two weeks.

    The ten complaints include the complaints of Mian Dawood, a Lahore-based lawyer, Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) Lawyers Forum, Punjab, PBC Vice Chairperson Haroon Rasheed and Council’s Chairperson Executive Committee Hasan Raza Pasha and Advocate Ghulam Murtaza Khan, for amassing illegitimate assets and misconduct.

    In his response, Justice Naqvi raised issues with the SJC inquiry against him and called for Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and two other judges to recuse themselves from the matter.

    On Nov 20, Justice Naqvi contested the SJC proceedings against him and also challenged the show-cause notice issued to him by the council, stating the initiation of proceedings was coram non-judice and without lawful authority.

    Subsequently, the SJC issued a fresh show-cause notice to Justice Naqvi on Nov 22, with a direction to come up with his defense by filing a reply within a fortnight.

    On December 4, Justice Naqvi had again approached the apex court and expressed his intent to pursue the constitutional petition he had moved earlier seeking to quash the revised show-cause notice issued by the SJC.

    Two days later, Justice Naqvi had invited the attention of the SC committee comprising three senior-most judges to the silence over his petitions challenging the issuance of the show-cause notice (SCN) despite the lapse of time as stipulated in the Supreme Court (Practice & Procedure) Act, 2023.

    Justice Naqvi had also written a separate letter to the SJC secretary, asking the latter to furnish a number of documents without which, the judge said, he would not be in a position to prepare his reply to the show-cause notice within time.

    On December 15, the SJC, in an open hearing, had given two weeks to the top court judge to respond to the misconduct allegations and directed him to submit a reply to the show-cause notice by January 1.

    On January 8, Justice Naqvi had withdrawn his objection to the three-judge bench hearing his plea challenging the issuance of a show-cause notice to him.

  • Show cause notice issued to Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi

    Show cause notice issued to Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi

    The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) issued a detailed show-cause notice to Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi on Wednesday, urging him to respond within 14 days.

    The show-cause was served with a 4-1 majority vote, with Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Sardar Tariq, Justice Ameer Bhatti, and Justice Naeem Afghan voting in favor, while Justice Ijazul Ahsan dissented.

    The notice comes in response to 10 complaints filed against Justice Naqvi, addressing allegations of financial misconduct and possessing assets beyond means.

    Ten complaints include the complaints of Mian Dawood, a Lahore-based lawyer, Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz Lawyers Forum, Punjab, PBC Vice Chairperson Haroon Rasheed and Council’s Chairperson Executive Committee Hasan Raza Pasha and Advocate Ghulam Murtaza Khan, for amassing illegitimate assets and misconduct.

    During the SJC meeting, complainants presented evidence, while Justice Naqvi’s objections were also reviewed by the council.

    Justice Naqvi previously challenged the SJC inquiry, asserting that it was launched based on alleged misconduct and assets beyond means.

    The objections raised by Justice Naqvi were examined during Tuesday’s meeting by council members, who also heard perspectives from complainants.

    The allegations against Justice Naqvi involve financial misconduct, and the show-cause notice underscores the seriousness with which the SJC is approaching the matter.

    The hearing is scheduled to continue, and Justice Naqvi’s response will be pivotal in determining the course of the proceedings.

  • ‘Officers from diverse departments’ may serve as DROs, ROs: ECP

    ‘Officers from diverse departments’ may serve as DROs, ROs: ECP

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is considering the appointment of “officers from diverse departments,” including judiciary, federal, and provincial governments, and officers from ECP as district returning officers (DROs) and returning officers (ROs) in the upcoming election on February 8, The News has reported on Thursday.

    According to the report, it is highly likely that ECP will use a mix of officers, but no official decision has been taken in this matter.

    “The Election Commission is left with no option but to engage officers from diverse departments. Already, the provincial election commissioners are in the process of finalising lists of officers for the poll job, besides Central Secretariat,” a senior official of the ECP told The News.

    The source from ECP also said that judiciary had rejected the request to appoint officers for election duty because of multiple reasons, including several pending cases. However, one of the smaller provincial high courts expressed a willingness to provide officers for election duty.

    To a question, he said around 1,000 DROs and ROs would be involved in the nationwide election duty.

    In 2009, the National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC) decided not to appoint judicial officers for election duty, as this had dragged the “judiciary into political controversies”.

  • Chief Justice calls meeting of Supreme Judicial Council

    Chief Justice calls meeting of Supreme Judicial Council

    The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, has called a meeting of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Friday at 11.30 a.m. as per Maryam Nawaz of Geo News.

    The meeting will focus on addressing complaints lodged against several high-ranking judges, including Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi.

    Notably, this will mark the first SJC meeting under the leadership of CJP Isa, following a gap of over three years since the previous moot. The council, chaired by CJP Isa, includes two other senior judges of the highest court, namely Justice Tariq Masood and Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan.

    The SJC holds the exclusive authority to dismiss judges from superior courts based on various charges.

    Apart from Justice Naqvi, there have been grievances filed against other judges of the superior court.

    The primary agenda for tomorrow’s meeting is likely to be the consideration of a complaint against Justice Naqvi.

    Justice Masood, senior judge of the Supreme Court and member of SJC, had submitted his legal opinion on the misconduct complaints filed against apex court Justice Naqvi in September this year, according to The News.

    Several misconduct complaints were filed against Justice Naqvi during the tenure of former chief justice Umar Ata Bandial who referred the matter to Justice Tariq Masood for examination and legal opinion.

    Initially, the misconduct complaint against Justice Naqvi was filed with the SJC by a Lahore-based lawyer Muhammad Dawood. Later on, Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) also announced that they were going to file a complaint against the senior judge.

    PBC Vice Chairman Haroon Rashid lodged a misconduct complaint against Justice Naqvi after an audio leak implied discussions regarding the manipulation of a case before a specific bench or judge, involving former Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi.

    Earlier this year, in April, senior judges of the Supreme Court, Justice Isa and Justice Masood, had urged former CJP Bandial to convene an SJC meeting to address the misconduct complaints against Justice Naqvi.

    In a joint letter to all SJC members, the judges emphasized the importance of ensuring the impartial investigation of the complaints to uphold the judiciary’s integrity and the judge’s reputation.

  • 60,000 cases are pending in the Supreme Court: Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar

    60,000 cases are pending in the Supreme Court: Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar

    Pakistan Bar Council Vice-Chairman Haroon-ur-Rashid has said that there are an estimated 60,000 cases pending in the Supreme Court, emphasizing that despite being repeatedly highlighted, important cases are still not scheduled for early hearing.

    Addressing the full court ceremony at the commencement of the new judicial year, Haroon-ur-Rashid said that no transparent system has been devised for the hearing of pending cases.

    He pointed out that in most cases, detailed decisions are not issued on time, and in between, judges retire. In some cases, larger benches were ordered, but that has not happened either. He requested the nominated Chief Justice to fix the benches in the same week as new and urgent cases are filed.

    Haroon-ur-Rashid added that a large number still await the first hearing. “There is a general impression that when the cases of a few special people are filed, they are immediately settled, whereas the general cases are fixed after a long time resulting in disappointment,” he said, adding that this practice should, henceforth, be dispelled.

    He further said that a system should be created in which cases are assigned without discrimination, the common people do not feel deprived and trust in the institution persists. He further highlighted that decisions have been made in many cases but their written orders have not been provided.

    Vice-Chairman Pakistan Bar Council Haroon-ur-Rashid also said that complete information should be provided to the Supreme Body of Lawyers, hoping the apex court will not be deprived of the right to access information.

  • LJCP website removes pending cases data amidst growing backlog concerns

    LJCP website removes pending cases data amidst growing backlog concerns

    The website of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP), the country’s top body responsible for overseeing the legal system, has been found lacking statistics on pending cases in courts nationwide, reported Dawn on Saturday.

    Typically, the LJCP’s website provides access to data on pending cases. However, the information appears to have been removed recently, leaving many questioning the decision.

    A senior LJCP official clarified that the website is undergoing an upgrade and is being revamped by the Punjab Information Technology Board. When asked about the absence of specific details on pending cases while other data remained accessible, the official attributed it to a technical matter, offering assurances that the information will be updated once the website revamp is completed.

    Meanwhile, the judiciary faces criticism for a massive backlog of cases, which has now surpassed two million in both superior and lower courts, but the official denied the website issue was connected to the matter.

  • No audio leak commission: Supreme Court suspends govt notification

    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.

  • Audio leaks commission to make proceedings public

    Audio leaks commission to make proceedings public

    The three-member judicial commission that was established to look into the audio leaks involving judges and the judiciary has decide to make its proceedings public.

    Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court, Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court, Aamer Farooq, are part of the commission.

    Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan appeared in the first meeting of the commission.

    Justice Qazi inquired from the attorney general that under which law the government formed the commission.

    The Attorney General said that this commission was formed under the Commission of Inquiry Act 2016.

  • ‘Judiciary cannot re-write Constitution’; PM Shehbaz remains defiant

    ‘Judiciary cannot re-write Constitution’; PM Shehbaz remains defiant

    A defiant Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the judiciary can only interpret the law, but cannot re-write it.

    “There is no example in the world where the parliament’s law — which has not even come into existence right now and has not taken its applicable shape — was subjected to a stay order,” said PM Shehbaz while addressing the launch ceremony of the constitution’s mobile app in Islamabad.

    “The Constitution has taken birth from the cradle of the parliament. The judiciary can interpret the Constitution — that is their right — but the judiciary cannot rewrite the Constitution,” said the Premier as his government faces off with the Supreme Court.

    “This (rewriting Constitution) is only the parliament’s authority,” he added, warning that the “parliament will use its constitutional and legal rights on this” matter.

    Shehbaz said the country was “standing at crossroads today” and that politicians, including him, had committed numerous mistakes.

    “The ones who stand above others are those who move forward after learning from their mistakes and subordinate themselves to the national interest for the nation’s supreme aim,” he said.

    The prime minister said the government was “working day and night to improve Pakistan’s difficult conditions and will keep doing so”.

  • Ap ko tab jazbaati hona chahiye tha jab Nawaz Sharif ko nikala gaya, Maryam tells Chief Justice

    Ap ko tab jazbaati hona chahiye tha jab Nawaz Sharif ko nikala gaya, Maryam tells Chief Justice

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz, speaking at a lawyers’ convention, criticised Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial after the Supreme Court (SC) verdict of holding of Punjab polls on May 14.

    “I saw tickers on TV attributed to the CJP, that said that the chief justice got emotional during the hearing.”

    “He should have felt emotional when an elected prime minister [Nawaz Sharif] was ousted on the basis of an expired Iqama (work permit),” she said about the controversial decision that ousted her father from power.

    “An election won by Nawaz was handed over to Imran … why didn’t you get emotional then? Why didn’t you get emotional when your brother [judge] Justice Qazi Faez Isa was suffering?” Maryam asked.

    Regarding the verdict which was given by the three-member bench, she asked, “How can the CJP expect us to accept a decision that even his brother judges are not accepting it? He discluded the judges who had raised legal reservations and instead brought those judges who favoured him.”

    She also pointed out CJ’s remarks about parliamentarians. Bandial had said: “Today when you go to parliament, you find people addressing the parliament who were till yesterday in captivity, imprisoned, declared traitors. They are now talking over there, and being respected because they are representatives of the people.”

    “Instead of taunting Shehbaz Sharif and the entire government for going to jail, the CJP could have mentioned that those who went to jail were imprisoned due to fake cases,” she stated, recalling the number of cases registered against PML-N leaders and the times they appeared before courts.

    “Our leaders like Rana Sanaullah remained in jail for six months and they had a smile on their faces when they were freed. But Imran and his men are getting bail within two hours,” she criticised.

    She also gave an example of herself being in Adiala Jail for months.

    Addressing the CJP again, Maryam said: “You encouraged the man who violated the Constitution and now he is causing anarchy in the country.”

    She claimed that Imran and “his facilitators” have a plan in store, which Maryam claimed was to be executed by September before the new CJP takes charge.

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also criticised Bandial’s remarks and said that it is a matter of pride for him that he has been released by the high court on merit in false and fabricated cases.

    “It is our right under the Constitution to express our views in the parliament,” he said

    Earlier, supremo Nawaz Sharif urged the parliament to file a reference of misconduct against Chief Justice Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar who decided on the Punjab election date.

    Calling the verdict a reflection of a “one-man show” in the judiciary, Nawaz argued that one individual should not be allowed to hold multiple functions, such as the prime minister, defence minister, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and above all, parliament.