Lawyer moves SJC to get top judge sacked

Complaint calls on SJC to remove CJP Bandial in accordance with Article 209(6) as he is ‘guilty of misconduct’

ISLAMABAD:

A complaint has been lodged with the Supreme Judicial Council calling for the removal of Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Umar Ata Bandial.

The complaint, filed by lawyer Raja Sibtain Khan, alleges that the chief justice engaged in misconduct by dividing judges into groups and securing their support to influence the outcome of a case.

The complaint relates to a case about the delay of provincial elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and argues that the chief justice constituted a bench based on these groupings to obtain a majority decision in favor of his own interests.

The complaint claims that the actions of the chief justice violated the Constitution and the fundamental rights of the people of Pakistan, and demonstrated unfaithfulness and disloyalty to the State. The complainant has called for an investigation into the matter and for the chief justice to be removed from his position.

This complaint comes amid an ongoing dispute between the coalition PDM government and the judiciary over the holding of elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces.