Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday said that the chief justice of Pakistan has no right to ‘insult’ judges in the open court.

Justice Siddiqui, who is himself facing a misconduct reference in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), was referring to a controversial incident involving Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and an additional sessions judge in Larkana last week.

In his remarks made during the hearing of a case related to the closure of a road in Aabpara area of the capital on the pretext of security, Justice Siddiqui said he wants to make a heartfelt appeal to the chief justice: “Chief justice has every right to dismiss our legal judgments but if he doesn’t respect us, then we reserve the right to come to our institution’s rescue.” The IHC judge lamented that the entire matter has been turned into a joke, as even not liking someone’s face can lead to his insult.

Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, on a visit to Larkana on Saturday, had expressed anger at an additional sessions judge during a surprise visit to his court. After inquiring into the lower court’s ongoing proceedings, Chief Justice Nisar expressed anger after he spotted the judge’s mobile phone on his desk. The chief justice picked up the mobile phone and threw it on his desk, warning him to leave his mobile phone outside during the court hearings.

Later, Additional District and Sessions Judge Larkana Gul Zameer Solangi reportedly sent his resignation to the Sindh High Court registrar due to the ‘humiliating behaviour’ of the chief justice. However, the high court clarified it did not receive any letter and doubted the veracity of the letter being circulated on the social media.

Justice Siddiqui is himself facing a show-cause notice by the SJC for making ‘unwarranted comments about some important constitutional institutions’ while passing an interim order in the Faizabad sit-in case last year.

The SJC is the only constitutional body to conduct inquiries into allegations of incapacity or misconduct against a senior judge.

Published in Daily Times, June 30^th 2018.