The Supreme Court has nullified the interim order that barred Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri from carrying out judicial duties. A constitutional bench of the Supreme Court accepted Justice Jahangiri’s appeal, ruling that “a judge cannot be restrained from performing duties based on an interim order.”
A constitutional bench (CB) of the Supreme Court (SC) headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprising Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan oversaw the case.
Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan appeared before the court, stating, “A judge cannot be barred from judicial work through an interim order.”
Senior lawyer Munir A. Malik questioned the order of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) at the hearing today, stating, “In my view, action against a judge can only be taken by the Supreme Judicial Council.”
The written order by the SC noted that the petition filed in the IHC carries certain objections, and petitioner Mian Dawood himself stated before the Supreme Court. The SC accepted Justice Tariq Jahangiri’s appeal against the IHC. The High Court must first decide on the objections before proceeding further.
“In the quo warranto petition filed before the Islamabad High Court, the High Court must first decide on the objections before proceeding further.”
Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri has resumed court duties and reached his courtroom after being reinstated. He has begun hearing cases again following the Supreme Court’s decision to restore him to his position.
Justice Jahangiri is now presiding over cases in a single bench, and along with Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, their division bench is also available today for hearings.
The Supreme Court on Monday suspended the IHC order that had barred IHC judge Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri from performing judicial work. The IHC subsequently issued a new cause list, restoring Jahangiri to single and division benches.
Read: Bumpy road ahead for Jahangiri
The case
A division bench led by IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar on September 16 had stopped Justice Jahangiri from performing his duties as it began proceedings on a quo warranto petition accusing him of holding a dubious LLB degree.
This was the first time in Pakistan’s history that a high court had stopped its own sitting judge from hearing cases — an order his counsel called a blow to judicial independence.
On September 19, five IHC judges, including Justice Jahangiri, went to the Supreme Court in person to file separate constitutional petitions, making eleven different prayers, including one seeking the quashing of the IHC order barring Jahangiri from judicial work.
And then, on September 25, the University of Karachi cancelled the judge’s LLB degree in light of a previous decision of its syndicate, further complicating the situation.
Outside the court, a journalist asked Jahangiri about Karachi University’s decision to cancel his law degree. “I have already filed a petition in the Sindh High Court,” he replied. “It is astonishing that they are cancelling a degree after 34 years. This has never happened in world history.”
Read more: SC halts IHC order barring Justice Jahangiri from judicial work
Justice Jahangiri has termed the controversy “political victimisation,” linking it to his role in the March 2024 IHC judges’ letter about surveillance of judges and to his work as an election tribunal judge whose decisions had upset ruling party candidates.
