ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad High Court division bench hearing a case concerning the eligibility of Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri was dissolved on Tuesday after one of its members recused himself from the proceedings, citing personal reasons.

The IHC bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro was scheduled to hear a civil miscellaneous application filed by the Islamabad Bar Association (IBA) seeking to become a party to the proceedings.

When the hearing began, Justice Soomro announced his recusal, leading to the dissolution of the bench. The matter was adjourned without further proceedings and will now be placed before the chief justice for the formation of a new bench.

The development marks yet another delay in a case that has drawn wide public and legal interest due to its unprecedented nature — a petition challenging the qualification of a sitting high court judge through a writ of quo warranto.

Matter will now be placed before IHC chief justice for constitution of new bench

The petition, filed by Advocate Mian Dawood, questioned the legitimacy of Justice Jahangiri’s LLB degree and sought a judicial determination on whether he lawfully held office as a high court judge.

The case has had a turbulent history. It was first taken up on Sept 16 by a division bench consisting of Chief Justice Dogar and Justice Mohammad Azam Khan. On that date, the bench issued an interim order restraining Justice Jahangiri from performing judicial functions pending a decision on the maintainability of the petition. The interim order, however, was issued without notice to the respondent.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court int­ervened and set aside the IHC’s restraining order on Sept 29. A five-judge SC constitutional bench headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan ruled that no high court could prevent a sitting judge from performing judicial work through interim relief. The apex court confined its ruling strictly to the legality of the IHC’s order and refrained from commenting on the merits or maintainability of the petition.

During the SC hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan acknowledged that the petition raised a question of first impression, as it sought the removal of a sitting judge through a quo warranto writ — a jurisdiction rarely invoked in such a context.

The AGP also referred to the landmark Malik Asad Ali case of 1988, in which the Supreme Court had held that judges could not be restrained from judicial duties through interim orders.

Advocate Dawood, appearing via video link from Lahore, agreed with the attorney general’s interpretation and conceded that the IHC’s interim order was indefensible under existing precedents.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, the IHC reconstituted the division bench to resume proceedings. According to the duty roster, the new bench comprising Chief Justice Dogar and Justice Soomro was assigned to hear the case.

However, several hearings since then have been postponed due to Justice Soomro’s unavailability. The hearing scheduled for Oct 21 was cancelled because of his absence, and the next one on Oct 23 was also deferred when he extended his leave.

Monday’s hearing finally saw the judge formally recuse himself, bringing the proceedings to another halt. With the dissolution of the bench, the matter now awaits administrative orders from Chief Justice Dogar for the constitution of a new bench.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2025