ISLAMABAD: A five-judge Constitutional Bench (CB) of the Supreme Court will commence from Sept 29 the hearing of an appeal, moved by Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, challenging a restraining order that prevented him from performing his judicial duties.

Headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, the bench will consist of Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan.

Filed by Justice Jahangiri in person, the plea asks that the Sept 16 restraining order be set aside and suspended while his current petition is pending, and the division bench that issued it be restrained from proceeding further.

The two-judge division bench, headed by Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar and consisting of Justice Mohammad Azam Khan, had issued the interim order while hearing a writ petition filed by lawyer Mian Dawood under Article 199 of the Constitution while raising serious questions about the validity of his law degree from the University of Karachi. The petition seeks a writ of quo warranto, questioning “by what authority” Justice Jahangiri holds judicial office.

Islamabad Bar Council moves petition to become party to the case

On Sept 23, Justice Jahangiri had also requested the Supreme Court to fix his appeal saying he could only serve as a judge of IHC till a particular age and time lost due to the operation of the impugned order cannot be regained by him.

In a two-page application moved before the Supreme Court, Justice Jahangiri had stated the Supreme Court must urgently intervene in the matter so that the petitioner can be restored and could continue to dispense justice in the high court that he serves in.

On reasons for urgency the application pleaded that the crucial decision to restrain a judge from performing his judicial function was made without even hearing the counter position, adding he was never heard.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad Bar Council (IBC) also moved a petition to become party in Justice Jahangiri’s appeal. The petition was moved jointly by members of IBC namely Syed Ahmad Hassan Shah, Naseer Ahmad Kiyani, Raja Muhammad Aleem Khan Abbasi, Syed Qamar Hussain Shah Sabzwari, Zulfiqar Ali Abbasi and Adil Aziz Qazi.

Moved under Article 185(3) of the Constitution, the IBC petition argued that the Sept 16 order was arbitrary, capricious and against the settled principles of law, where Supreme Court remains bound to intervene to obviate miscarriage of justice.

It was a settled law that no injunction can be passed without the three ingredients of a prima facie case, irreparable loss and balance of convenience of being met.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2025