Alleged misconduct: SJC reviews complaints against three judges

Seeks written reply from AGP over his preliminary objections over SJC’s proceedings

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Thursday initiated proceeding against three superior court judges including one LHC judge whose name came up in the Panama Papers.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the SJC meeting, chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, took up cases of two Lahore High Court (LHC) judges and a Sindh High Court (SHC) judge.

Senior lawyer Khawaja Haris appeared on behalf of one of the LHC judges. The counsel sought a written reply from the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) over preliminary objections raised by him over the counsel’s proceedings. The same judge has also sought open hearing of the case against him.



Hamid Khan appeared on behalf of the other LHC judge, whose name was revealed by the Panama Papers last year. Former AGP Munir A Malik represented the SHC judge.

Earlier, the council reserved its ruling on a plea of an Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge seeking an open trial by the SJC instead of in-camera proceedings. Presently, the SJC is considering cases of alleged misconduct against five high court judges – two IHC judges, two LHC judges, and one from the SHC.

According to Article 209 of the Constitution, the SJC comprises the CJP, two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, and the two senior-most chief justices of the high courts. No judge has ever been ousted on the recommendation of SJC since the 1970s.