ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Judicial Council on Thursday allowed Supreme Court judge, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi to submit his reply over show cause notice issued to him over the charges of misconduct.
A five members SJC led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa on Thursday conducted open proceedings of Justice Naqvi’s case at courtroom number one.
Justice Naqvi appeared along with his counsel Khawaja Haris.
The SJC adjourned the hearing until January 11. Justice Naqvi has been instructed to submit his reply, along with a list of witnesses, by January 1.
Furthermore, the council has directed the Attorney General for Pakistan to submit the list of witnesses within three days.
The SJC earlier in the day accepted the request by Justice Naqvi to conduct open hearing of financial misconduct allegations levelled against him.
In the six-page request filed earlier today, Justice Naqvi had asserted that the right to an open hearing under Articles 4, 9, 10A, 14, and 25 of the Constitution, citing the example of an open hearing in the Justice Shaukat Siddiqui case.
Furthermore, the application stated that the complaints were “politically motivated”.
Earlier on December,12, Justice Naqvi wrote an open letter to all judges of the apex court, levelling allegations of “bias” against the CJP. “I would not have written this letter in the interest of the preservation of the integrity — that which is left — of the institution where you and I hold public office had these been normal circumstances,” he wrote in his letter.
Read more Justice Naqvi accuses CJP of being ‘biased’ against him
The judge said that justices Qazi Faez Isa and Sardar Tariq Masood in a letter — dated May 3, 2023 — to the former chief justice Umar Ata Bandial encouraged an immediate initiation of proceedings against him, post the sham audio-leaks controversy.
Justice Naqvi said that the treatment offered to him by the chairman and the members of the SJC was nothing short of disgraceful. “I have written to the SJC via their Secretary on a total of eleven instances requesting for the provision of documents necessary to the development and formation of my appropriate defence,” he said and added that his requests still have not been complied with.
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The SC judge said that the two petitions under Article 184(3) of the Constitution that he had filed were finally fixed for hearing before a three-member bench to convene on Friday, December 15 2023. “Without raising any objections on the constitution of the Bench myself, allow me to draw your attention to the recent Note [dated 11.12.2023] written by Honourable Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and addressed to the Registrar of the Supreme Court. The note exposes the manner in which the violations of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 have taken place at the hands of those in authority.”
