ISLAMABAD: A five-judge Supreme Court bench will resume on Monday the hearing of an appeal of a former judge of the Islamabad High Court, Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui.

On Thursday the former judge had filed a fresh application before the Supreme Court to seek fixing of hearing of his appeal on Monday, which was adjourned on Wednesday without an announcement of the next hearing date.

The single-page application by the former judge pleaded that the matter was of great public importance and therefore required early adjudication by the court.

On Wednesday the SC bench headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, which was hearing the appeal of the former judge against an Oct 11, 2018, notification under which he was removed, had postponed further proceedings without announcing the next date.

Senior lawyer Hamid Khan is pleading the case of the former judge.

Usually the non-fixing of next hearing date does not bother a petitioner but in this case the matter become significance since Mr Siddiqui is due to retire on June 30, had he been still serving as a judge of the high court.

The fresh application pleaded that the matter was of great urgency as the petitioner’s several legal and constitutional rights were involved. “The petitioner seeks indulgence of this Hon’ble Court for the early fixation of the titled petition in the interest of justice,” the application said.

Mr Siddiqui was removed from the high judicial office on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council under Article 209 of the Cons­titution for displaying conduct unbecoming of a judge by delivering a speech at the District Bar Association of Rawalpindi on July 21, 2018.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2021