SJC urged to give IHC judge proper opportunity of defence
ISLAMABAD: The counsel for a sitting high court judge facing a reference requested the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Monday to give his client a proper opportunity of defence.
“Instead of a summary trial, a proper charge sheet should be issued by SJC so that evidence could be furnished in support of the accused,” argued senior advocate Hamid Khan, representing Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court.
A source privy to a meeting of the SJC headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar said the preliminary hearing continued for over three hours.
The IHC judge is facing a third reference for a speech in which he targeted a particular constitutional institution.
On July 31, the SJC issued a show-cause notice to Justice Siddiqui on the reference for making unnecessary and unwarranted comments on July 21 at the Rawalpindi District Bar Association about some important constitutional institutions by accusing the establishment of manipulating the judicial proceedings.
The SJC took up the matter after considering that such comments prima facie had the tendency of undermining the respect otherwise due to such constitutional institutions.
The council did not consider another request of Justice Siddiqui to hold the proceedings of this reference in the open court.
Justice Siddiqui is already facing a reference on misconduct earlier moved on the complaint by some retired employees of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for alleged refurbishment of his official residence beyond entitlement.
Against that reference, the judge filed in the Supreme Court a petition seeking open trial of the reference which is pending before the SJC and being heard in the open court.
Likewise, a similar show-cause notice was issued to Justice Siddiqui under Article 209 (5)(6) of the Constitution by the SJC on a reference moved by Advocate Kulsum Khaliq on behalf of former member of the National Assembly Jamshed Ahmed Dasti alleging that the high court judge had, during one of the hearings on a case relating to the 20-day Faizabad sit-in, objected to a compromise between the federal government and the protesting Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah. The compromise was facilitated by the armed forces.
After scrutinising the reference, a meeting of the SJC held on Feb 6 observed that the judge was guilty of misconduct and should be issued a show-cause notice in this regard.
Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2018