Alleged misconduct: Reference filed against Justice Siddiqui

IHCBA member says the judge had interfered in the bar’s affairs

ISLAMABAD: A lawyer has filed a reference before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against Islamabad High Court’s Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui for addressing lawyers during a general body meeting in November.

A member of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) Syed Javed Akbar, through his counsel Riaz Hanif Rahi, filed the reference before the SJC accusing the incumbent judge of “misconduct”.

Justice Siddiqui had made an unexpected appearance at the IHCBA General Body Meeting (GBM) on November 10 and sought permission from the lawyers’ representatives to address the bar. The organisers allowed him to address the meeting, but only in his capacity as a former president of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, Rawalpindi Division.

In his address, Justice Siddiqui said that the complainant had done his job after filing a reference before the SJC against the Islamabad High Court’s Chief Justice, Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi. However, he suggested that instead of demanding an ‘immediate’ resignation, the lawyers should wait for the SJC’s final decision.

In the reference filed on Thursday, the petitioner maintained that the judge was on judicial duty at the time he ‘interfered in the affairs of the bar’ and it was expected that he would preserve the dignity of his court and not involve himself in a public controversy.

A legion of Islamabad lawyers had called the GBM wherein they reiterated their demand for the resignation of IHC’s top judge.

In the reference, the petitioner has requested that an inquiry may be conducted in light of the allegations and report be sent
to the President of Pakistan for removal of the judge.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2016.