ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad District Bar Association has petitioned the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking to be impleaded as a party in the case challenging the appointment of Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, whose LLB degree was recently cancelled by Karachi University.

In an application filed through its president Chaudhary Naeem Ali Gujjar, the Islamabad bar argued that it is the primary stakeholder in all matters relating to the independence of the judiciary and the supremacy of the Constitution.

It maintained that fair and transparent adjudication of the pending writ petition was not possible without hearing the bar as a party, since the issues raised were of “fundamental importance” to the legal fraternity and the rule of law.

The bar underscored its mandate under the Memorandum of Association 2016, which obliges it to safeguard the rule of law, independence of the judiciary, and civil liberties.

Plea says fair adjudication of case impossible without hearing the bar

It said the association had consistently been in the vanguard of struggles for supremacy of law and must therefore be heard in this matter. The plea recalled that the bar is tasked with “facilitating members in performance of professional duties, preserving and safeguarding their interests, maintaining higher professional standards of integrity, and promoting professional competence and ethical conduct.”

“The Islamabad bar is resolute in shielding the superior judiciary from attacks, whether internal or external, and in striving for the supremacy of the Constitution,” the application stated. It requested the court to implead the association through its president as a respondent in the petition filed by Advocate Mian Dawood.

The bar’s move comes in the backdrop of significant legal developments over Justice Jahangiri’s status.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, set aside the IHC’s interim order that had barred Justice Jahangiri from performing judicial work following his degree cancellation. The five-judge bench ruled that judges cannot be restrained from performing judicial functions through an interim order, noting that the 1988 Malik Asad Ali case had settled the principle.

Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan conceded before the bench that the restraining order was indefensible in law, while petitioner Advocate Mian Dawood also admitted that after reviewing precedent he could not support the order. Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani observed that senior Supreme Court judges, including the Chief Justice of Pakistan, should directly engage with the IHC judges to resolve the institutional issues the high court was facing.

Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail remarked that judges can only be removed by the President on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) under Article 209 of the Constitution. Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar stressed that the Supreme Court was not examining the maintainability of the writ itself, but only the legality of restraining a sitting judge through an interim order.

The hearing was attended by five IHC judges — Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, and Saman Raffat Imtiaz — who entered the Supreme Court building as ordinary litigants rather than through the designated judges’ entrance.

The Sindh High Court has also taken up Justice Jahangiri’s petition against Karachi University’s cancellation of his degree. A division bench comprising Justices Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro and Mohammad Abdur Rahman issued notices to the cabinet division, Karachi University, the Additional Attorney General, and the Advocate General Sindh for Oct 3 (tomorrow).

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2025