The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, has called a meeting of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Friday at 11.30 a.m. as per Maryam Nawaz of Geo News.
The meeting will focus on addressing complaints lodged against several high-ranking judges, including Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi.
Notably, this will mark the first SJC meeting under the leadership of CJP Isa, following a gap of over three years since the previous moot. The council, chaired by CJP Isa, includes two other senior judges of the highest court, namely Justice Tariq Masood and Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan.
The SJC holds the exclusive authority to dismiss judges from superior courts based on various charges.
Apart from Justice Naqvi, there have been grievances filed against other judges of the superior court.
The primary agenda for tomorrow’s meeting is likely to be the consideration of a complaint against Justice Naqvi.
Justice Masood, senior judge of the Supreme Court and member of SJC, had submitted his legal opinion on the misconduct complaints filed against apex court Justice Naqvi in September this year, according to The News.
Several misconduct complaints were filed against Justice Naqvi during the tenure of former chief justice Umar Ata Bandial who referred the matter to Justice Tariq Masood for examination and legal opinion.
Initially, the misconduct complaint against Justice Naqvi was filed with the SJC by a Lahore-based lawyer Muhammad Dawood. Later on, Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) also announced that they were going to file a complaint against the senior judge.
PBC Vice Chairman Haroon Rashid lodged a misconduct complaint against Justice Naqvi after an audio leak implied discussions regarding the manipulation of a case before a specific bench or judge, involving former Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi.
Earlier this year, in April, senior judges of the Supreme Court, Justice Isa and Justice Masood, had urged former CJP Bandial to convene an SJC meeting to address the misconduct complaints against Justice Naqvi.
In a joint letter to all SJC members, the judges emphasized the importance of ensuring the impartial investigation of the complaints to uphold the judiciary’s integrity and the judge’s reputation.
