Parliamentary panel approves LHC Justice Naqvi for SC judge

A Parliamentary Committee on Judges Appointment on Thursday unanimously approved the nomination of Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi for Supreme Court judge, sources revealed to The Express Tribune.

A meeting of the committee was held in Parliament today.

Earlier, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) nominated him for elevation to the Supreme Court. Two members of the JCP - Justice Qazi Faez Isa and (retd) Justice Dost Muhammad Khan - opposed his nomination.

The post fell vacant after the retirement of former CJ Asif Saeed Khosa. It was the incumbent CJ Gulzar Ahmed who had earlier proposed Justice Naqvi’s name.

In a first, lawmakers interview judges for high courts

The Supreme Court comprises of the CJ, sixteen justices and two ad-hoc judges. Once appointed, the judges are expected to complete a designated term and then retire at 65 years of age, unless their term is terminated through resignation or impeachment by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).

Currently, Justice Naqvi is the third senior-most LHC judge and is known for his expertise in criminal law. In case of his elevation, he will work as the Supreme Court judge until August 31, 2025.

Justice Naqvi has authored more than 37,000 judgments including the January 17 order that declared as unconstitutional a special court’s Dec 17, 2019 verdict to award capital punishment to former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf.

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He had also banned media coverage of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain. Justice Naqvi also came to the limelight when he ordered the then Punjab government to make public a report about the June 2014 Model Town incident.

Recently, he granted bail to PML-N leader Hamza Shehbaz in a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) case. Sources said representatives of superior bars have decided not to oppose Justice Naqvi’s elevation to the apex court.

The JCP – formed under 18th Constitution Amendment in 2010 – nominates judges for appointment to Supreme Court, high courts and the Federal Shariat Court by a majority of its total membership. It then sends it nominations to a parliamentary committee.