ISLAMABAD: A judge of the Lahore High Court on Friday approached the Supreme Court by filing a petition under the enforcement of fundamental rights clause of the constitution, challenging a show-cause notice issued to him by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) over alleged misconduct.

Headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, the SJC had issued the show-cause notice to the judge on April 19 under Paragraph 9(1) of the Supreme Judicial Council Procedure of Enquiry (SJCPE), 2005.

The show-cause had required the judge to submit his explanation within a period of 14 days and in case no reply was made, it will be deemed that the judge had nothing to offer in reply.

The filing of the petition under Article 184(3) of the Constitution is reminiscent of the April 18, 2007, episode when former chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry filed a similar petition before the apex court, challenging the move of then president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf to file a reference against him on misconduct and abuse of powers.

The then suspended chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, had filed the petition through his counsel the day his fate as the highest adjudicator of the country was being discussed by the SJC.

Later on July 20, 2007, a 13-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday reinstated Justice Chaudhry to his position as chief justice of Pakistan.

Now the fresh petition by the sitting high court judge pleaded before the Supreme Court to declare the show-cause notice, as well as all acts leading up to the issuance of the notice, as unlawful, unconstitutional, without jurisdiction and contrary to public interest and in violation of Articles 209(5) (SJC), 9 (security of person), 10A (fair trial), 19 (freedom of speech) and 25 (equality of citizens).

The petition also asked the apex court to declare the SJCPE unconstitutional as being violative of Articles 10A and 25, read with Article 8 of the Constitution and, therefore, liable to be struck down.

The petition has also pleaded for the grant of the status quo in the action proposed to be taken against the petitioner pending decision of the matter.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2016