KARACHI, May 7: Senior lawyer and former advocate general of Sindh Anwar Mansoor Khan has sent a complaint to the Supreme Judicial Council against Sindh High Court Chief Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro seeking his removal from office for his alleged misconduct.

The complaint was sent to the SJC after the chief justice dismissed a civil matter of Mr Khan’s client without issuing any prior notice and despite the fact that he had submitted an application on behalf of his client that he had no trust in him.

Mr Khan told Dawn on Wednesday that he had sent the complaint under Article 209 of the Constitution seeking initiation of an inquiry and removal of Justice Afzal Soomro from his post because he had illegally decided a case without entertaining a no-trust application against him.

He said that a civil case was being heard by a single-judge bench of Justice Khalid Ali Z. Qazi and on April 24 the SHC adjourned the matter till April 29.

“The same day, the chief justice through an order placed the case before him and took up the matter on April 29. I was not feeling well and, therefore, I did not appear in the court. My junior lawyer went to the court and he was told that the matter had been fixed for a date in office. But later we were informed that the CJ had given May 2 as new date,” he added.

Mr Khan said on behalf of his client, Hanif Merchant, he had filed an application seeking transfer of the case to another bench because his client had no faith in the chief justice. However, the court on May 2 adjourned the matter for another date without entertaining the application, he added.

He said that on May 5, an urgent application had been moved by the respondent, Tessori Trading, on the grounds that the case had not been heard for long and the matter should be taken up on an urgent basis.

“The bench took up the case at 11.15am on May 5 and my junior lawyer was told that none of the lawyers from the other side was present and the case would be discharged for the day. Later, we came to know that the chief justice dismissed the case by writing that Mr Nafis Siddiqui was present on behalf of respondents.”

“The CJ dismissed the case on the day of hearing of urgent application and without issuing notice. This shows that he had some personal interest in the case and, therefore, I have sent the complaint to the SJC,” the former AG Sindh said.

Meanwhile, Mr Khan challenged the impugned judgment of the single bench in a division bench of the SHC comprising Justices Azizullah Memon and Khalid Ali Z. Qazi. The bench on Wednesday stayed the earlier decision and issued notices to respondents for a next day.