SC declares IHC order barring Justice Jahangiri from judicial work ‘null and void’
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday declared Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) Sept 16 decision to bar Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri from judicial work “null and void”, a day after the apex court ordered the decision’s suspension.
On Monday, the court adjourned the hearing to September 30 (today) and issued notices to all the respondents, as well as the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan, to appear before the court.
On September 16, the IHC had restrained Justice Jahangiri from exercising his judicial powers as a two-judge bench issued the interim order while hearing a writ petition filed under Article 199 of the Constitution. Justice Jahangiri then challenged the decision in the SC, pleading for the restraining order to be set aside.
The matter centres on a letter that began circulating last year on social media, purportedly from the University of Karachi’s controller of examinations, regarding the judge’s law degree.
Resuming the hearing on Tuesday, the five-member Constitutional Bench — headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprising Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan — took up Justice Jahangiri’s petition.
AGP Awan appeared before the court and said, “A judge cannot be barred from judicial work through an interim order.“
At this, Justice Aminuddin asked respondent Mian Daud, who had filed the original petition against Justice Jahangiri, for his opinion. In response, Daud said: “I hold the same opinion — a judge cannot be stopped from judicial work.” He added that “an order barring a judge from their duties cannot be defended.” Noting the AGP’s statement and that of other relevant parties, Justice Aminuddin set aside the IHC order, ruling that a judge cannot be stopped from carrying out judicial duties. The CB, while referring to the SC registrar’s office objections regarding the petition against Justice Jahangiri in the IHC, directed the court to “first decide on the objections in the writ petition.” During the hearing, the matter of the maintainability of the writ petition came under discussion as Justice Jahangiri’s legal counsel, Munir Malik, addressed the court and said, “according to Monday’s court order, it was written that the writ is maintainable, but in my opinion, only the SJC can take action against a judge.” Monitoring Desk
