ISLAMABAD, Dec 23: A legal activist has filed an application in the Supreme Court requesting it to take action against three judges, including the incumbent chief justice, over alleged charges of misconduct. Wahabul Khairi, a legal activist who gained prominence because of the 1996 judges’ case, said he had posted the request “through registered post and will personally deliver it before the secretary of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) who is also … the Supreme Court registrar, besides handing over the copies to member judges of the council personally”.

According to constitutional experts, any citizen can submit a reference against a judge if he makes out a proper case to convince the SJC to commence its proceedings.

Article 209 of the Constitution as amended through the Legal Framework Order in 2002 and later validated by the 17th Constitutional Amendment suggests that any person can submit information regarding misconduct of a judge, but it is always the president who directs a reference, or the council could initiate proceedings on its own under Article 209.

It is the president’s prerogative to remove a judge after receiving the council’s recommendations.

Mr Khairi’s missive requests the SC to appoint deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry as head of the SJC because he still was the rightful chief justice and to initiate proceedings on misconduct against the present chief justice and Justice Syed Zawwar Hussain Jaffery, who had stayed the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Education from probing into the issue of granting additional marks to a daughter of Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar.

The request also includes the name of a junior judge, who had not had heard his appeal against the order of the registrar not to entertain his (Mr Khairi’s) petition against President Asif Ali Zardari for reneging on his commitments.

The controversy over the grant of additional marks to Farah Hameed Dogar, Mr Kairi said, had forced Mian Nawaz Sharif, chief of the PML-N, to protest.

Mr Khairi has also annexed the code of conduct adopted by the SJC for superior court judges stating:

“The prime duty of a judge as an individual is to present before the public the image of the justice of the nation.”

“The Constitution by declaring that all authority exercisable by people is a sacred trust of Allah Almighty, makes it plain that the justice of the nation is of divine origin.

“A judge should be God-fearing, law abiding, truthful of tongue, wise in opinion, cautious and forbearing, blameless, untouched by greed, to be above reproach and for this purpose to keep his conduct in all things official and private, free from impropriety, is expected of a judge.

“To employ the influence of position to gain undue advantage whether immediate or future is a grave fault,” the code said.

Mr Khairi also cited Rule 165 of the lawyers’ code of conduct which said that it was the duty of advocates to endeavour to prevent political consideration for outweighing judicial fitness in the appointment of judges. They should protest earnestly and actively against the appointment and selection of people who are unmatchable for the bench and should strive to have elevated those willing to forgo other employment.

Mohammad Iftikhar Hussain Rajpoot, a citizen, had earlier filed a similar application before the SJC.