Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawyers have decided to challenge the legal position of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui in the Supreme Judicial Council for issuing an order stopping the party’s planned sit-in on November 2, saying that the judge ignored the decision of the high court.

A reference is being heard in the Supreme Judicial Council against Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui on the charges of corruption and abuse of authority.

The reference was filed by Ali Anwar Gopang, a former officer of the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

According to the reference, Justice Siddiqui got allotted a bungalow through the PM’s Secretariat by using his influential.

It said that the judge then rejected the house and got another house allotted in a posh sector of Islamabad. The house was earlier in the use of Tariq Aziz, principal secretary to former president Pervez Musharraf.

According to the reference, Justice Siddiqui, by using his political nexus, influenced the CDA to repair/renovate the official house, which cost the authority more than Rs 120 million, despite the fact that it was on the pool of Public Works Department (PWD) and the wear and tear of the house was also that department’s responsibility.

Conceding to the pressure from Justice Siddiqui, the PWD had told the CDA that they had no objection on the repair of the house by the authority, it said.

The judge also ordered the CDA to make a pigeon cage on the rooftop of the house, as the judge was very fond of pigeon, it added.

The reference also mentioned that Justice Siddiqui had also ordered the CDA to appoint a son of his friend, who was also working in the CDA, in officer cadre. Then he gave a job to his daughter-in-law in the IHC, it said. The reference alleged that the judge had also ordered the CDA to give a plot worth Rs 50 million to the same officer, instead of a plot that was worth Rs 25 million.

The hearing of the case was held in May 2015, and the Supreme Judicial Council had issued a show cause notice to Justice Siddiqui.

It is pertinent to mention here that a reference was also filed against IHC Chief Justice Anwar Kasi for making illegal appointments in the high court. The Supreme Court had already declared these appointments null and void. The former IHC chief justice, Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman, also had to resign this week on the charges of corruption, as he was at the helm of affairs when the illegal inductions were made in the high court.

Senior lawyers of the Supreme Court have been raising their voices for early action against judges against whom references were under process in the Supreme Judicial Council. In this connection, former Supreme Court Bar Association president Asma Jahangir and High Court Bar Association President Tariq Jahangiri have demanded holding final hearing of all the under-process references.

The PTI lawyers had a detailed discussion on the orders passed by Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, and they agreed that it was against basic human rights. They also believed that Justice Siddiqui gave the controversial decision to save his political career, as the high court had already given verdict in Barrister Zafarullah’s case that protest is a basic right of every citizen. Now, the lawyers are preparing to raise these questions on every forum.