ISLAMABAD: Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has sought contempt proceedings over a complaint filed against him and his alleged vilification on social media.

The development came a day after IHC’s Justice Babar Sattar sought contempt proceedings over a social media campaign targeting him and his family.

Justice Kayani, the senior-most IHC judge after the chief justice, has pleaded that the social media campaign “scandalised” him.

According to the sources, Justice Kayani referred to the complaint filed against him in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and also a vlog and a television programme in which the complainant, Advocate Mohammad Waqas Malik, criticised the judge.

Justice Kayani refers to SJC complaint filed against him; says complainant criticised him on social media

The complaints by the two judges were yet to be heard as the bench to take up the matter could not be constituted.

This was because the IHC chief justice Aamer Farooq — who’d fix the pleas before a bench — was presiding over a meeting of the Justice Committee of the federal capital.

The committee was the apex body which oversees administration, operation and development of judiciary and security challenges within the federal capital.

The meeting, presided over by CJ Farooq on Tuesday, was attended by District and Sessions Judge (West) Azam Khan, District and Sessions Judge (East) Shahrukh Arjumand, Law and Justice Secretary Raja Naeem Akbar, Islamabad Chief Commissioner Chaudhry Mohammad Ali Randhawa, Inspector General Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi and other officials.

Complaint against Justice Kayani

Advocate Malik filed the complaint against Justice Kayani days after he, and five other IHC judges, wrote a letter to the SJC against the meddling of intelligence agencies in judicial affairs.

Mr Malik, a former Islamabad High Court Bar Association general secretary alleged that the judge wilfully “waged a war” against security forces “by inducing and convincing other judges of high court”.

The complaint said that “the action of the learned judge … is not initiated in good faith as he is facing ‘references’ questioning his integrity and conduct as a judge”.

This was an apparent reference to a separate complaint filed against Justice Kayani in October 2023, accusing the judge of granting relief to lawyers with whom he had acquaintance from his time of practice.

Advocate Malik’s complaint claimed that intelligence agencies were required to keep a check on the ‘criminal intents’ of judges, but they had failed to do so.

It claimed that the letter by six IHC judges attempted to provoke the sentiments of the people affiliated with a political party and, in fact, had mali­gned the office of a judge who indulged in political affairs for his personal gains.

The complaint sought actions against the judge under Article 209 of the Constitution.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2024