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Justice Shaukat Siddiqui removed as Islamabad High Court judge
President Arif Alvi has removed Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui as a judge of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), a notification issued by the law ministry said on Thursday.
The president took the decision after the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) recommended his removal, the statement added.
A letter written by the SJC had emerged earlier in the day, in which the council, comprising five Supreme Court judges, had said it found Justice Siddiqui guilty of misconduct over a speech he delivered in July earlier this year before the Rawalpindi District Bar Association.
"The council is unanimously of the opinion that in the matter of making his speech before the District Bar Association, Rawalpindi on [July 21] Mr. Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui [...] had displayed conduct unbecoming of a judge of a high court and was, thus, guilty of misconduct and he is, therefore, liable to be removed from his office under Article 209(6) of the Constitution," the communication read.
The SJC is a constitutional forum that examines the conduct of superior court judges and then recommends their removal from the top post.
While addressing an audience at the Rawalpindi bar, Justice Siddiqui had claimed that personnel of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) were manipulating judicial proceedings.
He had further claimed that the spy agency had approached IHC Chief Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi and said: "'We do not want to let Nawaz Sharif and his daughter come out [of the prison] until elections, do not include Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui on the bench [hearing Sharifs' appeals]'."
Justice Siddiqui had offered no evidence to support the claims he made.
The IHC judge was facing a reference over his controversial speech, the third reference filed against him.
Decision 'not unexpected': Justice Siddiqui
In a statement issued in response to the SJC's recommendation of his removal, Justice Siddiqui said the decision was "not unexpected" for him.
"When nothing came out of a baseless reference started in the name of alleged refurbishment of [my] official residence about three years ago despite full effort, my address to a bar association, every word of which was based on truth, was used as the justification [to dismiss me]," he said.
"This reference was not heard in open court despite my demand and clear verdict of the Supreme Court, and neither was a commission formed to examine the facts described in my speech.
"I am completely satisfied with the requisites of my conscience, my nation and my rank," he wrote.
Justice Siddiqui said he will present his detailed stance before the public "very soon".
"[I] will also reveal the facts which I had presented before the Supreme Judicial Council in my written statement and state the actual reasons behind the dismissal of a high court judge in this manner after nearly half a century."
References against Justice Siddiqui
On July 31, the SJC had issued a show-cause notice to Justice Siddiqui on the reference for making unnecessary and unwarranted comments at the Rawalpindi District Bar Association by accusing the establishment of manipulating the judicial proceedings.
The SJC took up the matter after considering that such comments prima facie had the tendency of undermining the respect otherwise due to such constitutional institutions.
The council did not consider another request of Justice Siddiqui to hold the proceedings of this reference in the open court.
The judge had been already facing a reference on misconduct earlier moved on the complaint by some retired employees of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for alleged refurbishment of his official residence beyond entitlement.
Likewise, a similar show-cause notice was issued to Justice Siddiqui under Article 209 (5)(6) of the Constitution by the SJC on a reference moved by Advocate Kulsum Khaliq on behalf of former member of the National Assembly Jamshed Ahmed Dasti alleging that the high court judge had, during one of the hearings on a case relating to the 20-day Faizabad sit-in, objected to a compromise between the federal government and the protesting Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah. The compromise was facilitated by the armed forces.
After scrutinising the reference, a meeting of the SJC held on Feb 6 had observed that the judge was guilty of misconduct and should be issued a show-cause notice in this regard.
Comments (121) Closed
Excellent news!!!
Bad decision!
No voice of dissident will be tolerated That’s the new law
It's very difficult to speak the truth in Pakistan. Bravo Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui!
Good decision by the Supreme Judicial Council, approved by the president.
I see hope. Good news
Truth is always bitter
@Zeeshan - Right-wing Indian trolls busy here as usual with misinformation!
The price of speaking the truth in Pakistan.
Good
A very good decision by the SJC.Judiciary should be held accountable for misdeeds as per the laid down legal process .
Good move
PTI government facing tremendous challenges from all those who want status quo. Tough decisions must be taken otherwise no tabdeeli will be possible.
strange,,, why the president reacted in such haste ???
While it is justified to remove him for speaking in public. Allegations levelled by ex-justice siddiqui should also be investigated.
He paid the price for speaking truth.
Naya Pakistan.....no tolarence?
PTI government must keep up with these tough decisions to bring about the CHANGE.
See what happens to whistle blowers...
Is it so easy to oust a sitting judge in Pakistan? In India both houses of Parliament has to vote with two third majority to oust a sitting judge from a high court or supreme court. The courts themselves do not have any say in removing a judge.
History will record it's own verdict on this.
bad fish is out of pool now, great decision.
Justice Siddiqui committed the crime of speaking out what is common knowledge.
Glad sanity prevailed..
Good work
Being a brother of Irfan Siddiqi, he through various statements gave the impression of having a soft corner for Sharif family. But a judge should be above the board. Right decision
good
100% Agreed since "Justice Siddiqui had offered no evidence to support the claims he made"
Good.
Not enough. He needs to be charged and vetted for the reason of his outburst.
Just removal from the office, should be held responsible for treason against him
@Husain , why excellent?
@Z It has been investigated, read complete news before commenting
My respect to DAWN for publication!
Judges of the superior courts are appointed to strictly interpret and apply the law to cases presented to them without fear or favor.Judges are not to indulge in political activism or promote political ideology of certain political party.It is evident that judge Siddiqi was violating the rules and betraying his OATH his removal was long overdue.Every law scholar would appreciate his removal.
why ? was he proven wrong about his statement
Well deserved!
Justice Shaukat Siddigui is brave man! My respect!! Truth will prevail!!!
Awesome!!!
That is a very good step. He was talking more like a politician than a judge and deserved to be removed for violating the rules of his oath and ethical standards of his profession. I support this decision.
An extra ordinary decision of Supreme Judicial council to remove Justice Siddique (Texas )
@Nasir How do you know he didn't? To make it black and white, he requested to make this hearing in open court?
Is this done? Something fishy !!!
Very SAD.
@Aamir Justice Siddiqui had offered no evidence to support the claims he made. read the complete article please
@NPS - Why? Its in every newspaper and news channel.
@Syed (See what happens to whistle blowers.)
Very well said.
Justice Shaukat Siddiqui is a true son of the soil!
@M. Emad - Why are you always "sad" when anything good happens in Pakistan? Do you do the same in your country too?
It is not clear from the news item if he ever offered his defense and produce an evidence? Anyway, he was too vocal and was not a jdge;s material to start with. Why we have judiciary in the news all the time. It is not good for the judiciary and the country. They should be working in the background only--not reading newspapers, comments, tv, anchor people. It was not too long ago when even educated people did not know the names of many judges.
Should a judge be removed by his peers or parliament?
This was well considered and thought provoking judegement of the SJC in which Judtice Siddique failed to defend himself with concrete evidence.Therefore the President acted in accordance with unanimous decision and request of the SJC. Good decision. Judges must be above party politics and prejudices of all kinds; impartiality and critical analysis of evidence is required in all judicial process.
Honesty is punished! PMIK must interfere
My fear is that we will never know the real truth.
Charges may be valid but so quick Process and haste in removal is questionable. there must be a proper process for removal of judges of higher judiciary. In india a high court and supreme court judge could be removed by impeachment only and a impeachment resolution requires support of two third majority in parliament after proper hearing in both houses to be passed and then ceremonial nod of the president. In this case there was no allegation related to misconduct in his judicial duty.
@Harmony-1© ..True comment I agree with you.
@Shahid he was a judge and was alleging baseless allegation to malign judiciary and army. He couldn’t provide any evidence of those allegations. He should face the consequences and he did that is why it is excellent. Understood?
@Harmony-1©DAWN is my favorite because of its objectivity and broad vision!
He should have defended himself by presenting evidence.
Unfortunately those who are manipulating the system from behind the scenes would never be investigated. The Justice needs to be seen to be done which in my view was not done.
@Abdul Ghaffar - How, if he had nothing to present as the report says?
He should have proved his statement, which he failed
It would have been better that his allegations be probed and if found guilty, then be removed ! This only verifies his stance !
Was expected, Lets see what Bar Associations will do about this Injustice
Good decision
@Nasir it's not his job to provide evidence, it the other party to prove their innocence. Forgot what PTI did to Nawaz
Fair decision!!! An honorable judge would keep his highly charged political views to himself!
Justice Siddiqui is bold and admirable !!
A Judge should not be allowed to make political statements. Judge Siddiqui's statement in my opinion was of political nature and therefore his dismissal is good decision by President of Pakistan
Good news
A cronie of Nawaz Sharif. He deserves more should also be tried for indulging in politcs
@Abdul Ghaffar "He should have defended himself by presenting evidence."
You mean like Nawaz Sharif did?
Perfectly predictable decision. Pakistan continues to slide; due process just in name.
He is responsible for his own downfall.
@Z Allegations without any proof. He was asked to substantiate those allegations. Which he did not.
A new watershed in the history of this country. Civil military relations have nose dived.
A person who puts personal emotions and political biases in making judgmental statements unilaterally cannot be considered as a unbiased judge and does not deserve to serve in the honorable position.
Unfair, narrow and manipulated decision against Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui. Open and frank truthful statement has been ignored and buried.
@Harmony-1© The Indian government has an entire department devoted to misinformation on the internet. Their trolls work day and night on Indian government payroll, the biggest targets being Pakistan and China.
Now the SJC should also remove Justice Ather Minallah - another planted justice.
Justice, it is said not only must be done but also must be seen to be done. Was this the right way to kick out a sitting judge. Transparency is the key to justice. It may have been the right decision but the way it was done raises unwanted suspicion.
worst type of injustice.
@Husain again!?
@Zeeshan wanna bet?
@Harmony-1© what else would they do? their jobs? they don't even show up for those!
Current government need to evaluate each federal employee to see if their actions and behavior meets standards conducive for the country.
@Harmony-1© theyre very easy to spot..
Strange decision ! Acted in haste !
SHAMEFUL!!
Sad news
This is a bad precedent to remove a senior high court judge because he told the truth. Chief justice should have formed a commission to investigate the allegations and should have given him a chance to ckear his name. In this case the majority is wrong and our judicial system needs an overhaul. In my opinion he is the best judge, honest and trustworthy but this was expected.
Why was the trial not done openly despite request? What were they hiding and who were they protecting!
Bravo Justice Siddiqui! The role if the deep state is an open secret, spefically during the last one year, which has undermined the suparmacy of Constitution, rule of the law and fair play. It is very clear to some what is going on and time will make it clear to those who are having a honey moon with the present set-up at this moment.
Very sad day for Justice.Pakistan underseigh. World knows now who is in control of Pakistan Government.
Very sad, it shows that the new government, courts etc are all bring controlled behind the scenes by some anti-democratic elements that cannot bear any criticism .
He deserved it
lets see his evidence if he has any. he should know better than anyone to know that in court of law hard evidence is what required. not mere sayings....if he is honest then he should've continued to work and provide justice and when time came showed his evidence. instead of making a attention gathering speech .
@wahid It is not President’s decision he is acting on the SJC recommendation only.
@SUMAIRA So far what CJP is doing is it fair? Now we have so called very honest government then he should stop interfering in executive work.
One thing is very clear from the comments section that majority of Pakistanis do believe in whatever propaganda media propagate.
By using some common sense it is easy to filter out the truth.
Hope one day We all shall know the truth but I fear it will be of no use by that time.
@Indian its because in India there is supremacy of the parliament understood and respect by all the institutions, additionally, the judiciary is independent and pass judgments based on the interpretation of the constitution and the laws which are based on.
@Indian ..you guys are not happy with the decision which is quite understandable.
Not enough, further action should be taken.
Why all the Bars are quite on this injustice?
A dark day of Pakistan's Justice system.
@Pathanoo We already know the truth.
A brave judge of Pakistan's Supreme Court has been victimized.
No room for bigots in Quaid's Pakistan, thanks President Alvi for swift action.
Cut to size
Well purged.
Despite the ruling on him, he will still attract a lot of sympathisers for taking a stance against a minority group. In the same way many do.
What message we are giving to our generation by punishing the High Court senior most Judge for speaking truth and not questioning or punishing them who asked him to write a verdict per their instructions.
Price to be paid to speak truth.This also shows that judiciary is in the clutches of security forces.
He must thank honorable CJP that he is not fined and jailed otherwise he had been n deep trouble. Iqbal Hadi Zaidi
Bravo!! Naya Pakistan, Naya Qanoon.
I do not know enough. All I can tell you now is the Press Club is not the right forum for a Judge.
Why such mediocre political appointments are made in the first place!
If u speak the truth in Pakistan you are committing crime. Politics of revenge will take Pakistan no where
@Imran what good? Do you know the meaning of good
That's really a good news. Under the influence of strong political and non political people, he granted bails to many accused so that they can either escape country or buy more time to move freely.
@Indian That is why India has reached where it is.
I think it is a good decision. If Shaukat Siddigui has the proof then he proves. He is just basing on assumptions and with your assumptions you cannot blame. Thanks
@JA-Australia: Good revelation, thanks.
I have an indirect but related queation: Why do we have a president??? Who gives this person the mandate? Shouldn't the elected houses and the prime minister make such decisions?