Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi. Photo courtesy Supreme Court of Pakistan
After a gap of over two years, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) convened on Friday and issued a show-cause notice to Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi against 10 complaints filed against him.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the SJC said the decision to issue a show-cause to Justice Naqvi was supported by a majority of three members, while two—reportedly Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti—had rejected it. It said copies of the complaints were forwarded to Justice Naqvi with the show-cause notice, adding his reply was sought within 14 days of the receipt. The minority members, it added, had said they “needed more time to consider the complaints against him.”
According to the SJC statement, the forum considered 29 complaints, dismissing 19 of them, and decided to inform the judges who were complained against, and the legal heirs of those who had passed. “The council noted that frivolous complaints were filed by some lawyers who the council decided to caution,” it added.
Noting that one of the complaints was against a member of the SJC, it said the council was accordingly reconstituted with Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah taking the place of Justice Ahsan following his recusal. “The complaint was dismissed,” it added.
Similarly, it said, a complaint had been filed by Amna Malik against SJC member Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, who had requested that it be taken up and examined as she had made it public. “Therefore, the council was reconstituted by requesting Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, the next judge in seniority in the Supreme Court, to take his seat on the council on the recusal of Justice Sardar Tariq Masood,” it said.
After considering the complaint, read the statement, the SJC found requisite material was not attached with it, and as such Malik had been directed to produce material in support of it. Once it had been received, it said, the material would be shared with Justice Masood for his response. “The council also summoned Ms. Amna Malik to be present in the next meeting of the council, when Justice Sardar Tariq Masood may also be present to give his point of view,” it added.
The SJC meeting, per the statement, also discussed constituting a separate secretariat for it, with a full-time secretary and requisite staff. The registrar of the Supreme Court has been directed to submit a working paper to the CJP in this regard.
CJP Qazi Faez Isa had summoned the SJC meeting a day earlier to discuss complaints filed against superior court judges.