‘Tainted’ SC judge doffs robe to ‘save face’

ISLAMABAD:

Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi – who faces charges of misconduct – on Wednesday resigned as a judge of the Supreme Court, saying it was no longer possible for him to continue holding this position.

Justice Naqvi is accused of misconduct and  embroiled in ongoing proceedings at the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) in this connection.

A day earlier, the apex court turned down Justice Naqvi’s plea to halt the ongoing SJC misconduct proceedings against him.

Justice Naqvi tendered his resignation to President Dr Arif Alvi, in which he wrote that it was an honour for him to serve as the judge of the Lahore High Court and then the Supreme Court.

"In the circumstances which are a matter of public knowledge and to some extent public record, it is no longer possible for me to continue to serve as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan," Justice Naqvi wrote in his resignation.

“Considerations of due process also compel. I, therefore, effective today resign as judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan,” he added.

Justice Naqvi may now be entitled to pension and other privileges after his resignation. If the SJC had removed him for misconduct, he would have lost these benefits.

Read: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2452706/naqvis-bid-to-halt-sjc-rejected

After the president accepts Justice Naqvi’s resignation, the posts of two judges at the top court will become vacant.

Interestingly, Justice Naqvi wrote the year 2023 in his resignation letter.

However, the error was rectified when the Aiwan-e-Sadr pointed it out.

In a letter sent to Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and all SC judges in December, Justice Naqvi wrote that the treatment meted out to him by the SJC was “nothing short of disgraceful”.

Ten complaints accusing Justice Naqvi of misconduct were pending in the SJC.

In October last year, the SJC issued a show-cause notice to Justice Naqvi in connection with the complaints lodged against him and directed the judge to submit a reply within two weeks.

Headed by CJP Isa, the SJC includes Justice Tariq Masood, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti, and Balochistan High Court CJ Naeem Akhtar.

In a preliminary reply submitted to the council in November, Justice Naqvi cited “serious prejudice” against him, demanding that CJP Isa, Justice Masood and CJ Akhtar should recuse themselves and not hear the matter.

On November 20, Justice Naqvi challenged the SJC proceedings against him and also contested the show-cause notice issued to him by the council, maintaining that the initiation of proceedings was coram non-judice and without lawful authority.

Later, the SJC issued a fresh show-cause notice to Justice Naqvi on November 22, directing him to file his reply within 14 days.

On December 4, Justice Naqvi again approached the top court and expressed his intent to pursue the constitutional petition he had moved earlier seeking to quash the revised show-cause notice issued by the SJC.

After a couple of days, Justice Naqvi drew the attention of the SC committee comprising three senior-most judges towards the silence over his petitions challenging the issuance of the show-cause notice despite the lapse of time as stipulated in the Supreme Court (Practice & Procedure) Act, 2023.

On December 15, the SJC in an open hearing gave two weeks to Justice Naqvi to respond to the misconduct allegations and directed him to submit a reply to the show-cause notice by January 1.

Later, the judge filed a detailed response to the show-cause notice, claiming that the allegations against him were “absolutely and maliciously false”.

He added that the SJC was not empowered to entertain any complaint against a judge and was only entitled to receiving “information”.

On January 8, Justice Naqvi withdrew his objection to the three-judge bench hearing his plea challenging the issuance of a show-cause notice to him.

On Tuesday, a three-member SC bench led by Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprising Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Musarrat Hilali dismissed Justice Naqvi's petition to halt the ongoing misconduct proceedings at the SJC.