IHC top judge rebuffs allegations levelled by Justice Siddiqui

SJC issues third show cause notice to Justice Siddiqui to explain his conduct

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Anwar Kasi on Wednesday denied the allegations levelled against him by his fellow judge Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui regarding manipulation of judicial proceedings by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Earlier, Justice Siddiqui claimed that ISI personnel approached the IHC chief justice and asked him not to let deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter come out of the prison before the general elections and not to include him (Justice Siddiqui) in the bench and that Kasi responded the bench would be constituted as per their desire.

Upon this, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had sought comments from IHC Chief Justice Muhammad Anwar Kasi on the veracity of the allegations levelled against him by Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui.

It is learnt that the IHC chief justice while giving comments on July 29 had ‘categorically denied’ all allegations levelled by Justice Siddiqui’s.

In his comments, Kasi also said that Justice Siddiqui did not respond to a request for the provision of material to substantiate his allegations.



However, sources revealed that Justice Siddiqui would give answers along with evidence in his reply over the show cause notice.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Judicial Council issued a third show cause notice to Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui over his July 21 speech at the Rawalpindi District Bar Association.

“After having examined the record and also the opinion of our brother Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and upon thoroughly discussing the matter while taking into consideration the material, we are inclined to issue a show cause notice to the respondent judge [Justice Siddiqui].”

And send the relevant material to him calling upon him to explain his conduct within a period of 14 days. “Let the matter be listed on August 28 for consideration of the reply of the respondent judge,” says the order passed by Supreme Judicial Council Chairman CJP Mian Saqib Nisar.

According to the show cause notice, the council has noted that Justice Siddiqui in his speech put ‘serious allegations’ pertaining to superior judiciary and a ‘state institution’

In the show cause notice, the IHC’s judge allegations were categorised into six parts. Interestingly, there is nothing that mentioned the name of the complainant in the matter.

First, the ISI is involved in the manipulation of judicial proceedings including making of cases to the benches.



Second, ISI personnel approached the  IHC chief justice and asked him not to let Sharif and his daughter come out of prison before general elections 2018 and not to include your lordship in the bench and the chief justice IHC responded that the bench would be constituted as per their desire.

Third, your lordship (Justice Siddiqui) claimed to even have knowledge of the person who conveys messages to the Supreme Court.

Fourth, daily proceedings of the accountability court were being reported somewhere and that your lordship also knows the reason why the administrative control of Islamabad High Court as per statute was removed so that no judge could look into the proceedings.

Fifth, your lordship was asked to give assurance that your lordship would give decision as per their request and then reference pending against your lordship would be closed.

Sixth, if your lordship decided cases according to their desire, it would be made chief justice of Islamabad High Court by September.

“Above act on your part amounts to misconduct as envisaged in the provisions inter alia of Articles II, III, V & IX of the Code of Conduct prescribed by the Supreme Judicial Council,” says the show cause notice.

The IHC judge has been asked to explain his conduct with regard to his allegations which prima facie constitute misconduct on your part within the meaning of paragraph (b) of clause (5) and clause (6) of Article 209 of the constitution. The complaint has been numbered as 347 SJC of 2018.

The show cause says that if IHC judge does not reply then council shall proceed further with the inquiry as deemed appropriate.

On Tuesday, the SJC resumed the open hearing on the alleged misconduct by the IHC judge and then deferred the proceedings for an indefinite period.

On Monday, the five-member SJC led by CJP showed its determination to decide the matter within three days but was compelled to postpone the proceedings on the recommendation of Attorney General of Pakistan Khalid Javed Khan.

The AGP stated that documents were compiled by special prosecutor Maulvi Anwarul Haq, who is not in the country these days.

The AGP said that even if the court records statements of all the witnesses, he would not be able to argue the case as he would be resigning soon.

Khan further requested the council to adjourn the hearing until Haq’s return to the country by the first week of August. Justice Siddiqui’s counsel, Hamid Khan, stated that his client would not be available from August 9 to 22.