ISLAMABAD: On Thursday, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) granted Justice (retd) Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, who is the subject of misconduct allegations, a further opportunity to address the body.
Naqvi resigned from his position the day before over “circumstances which are a matter of public knowledge and to some extent public record.”
President Arif Alvi accepted Naqvi’s resignation earlier today. The SJC served Naqvi with an intimation notice, requesting that he come before the body tomorrow to address the accusations made against him.
Judge Qazi Faez Isa, the chairman of the SJC, stated during the hearings that there were two possible explanations for the judge’s resignation: either the accusations against him were unfounded and he resigned under duress, or they were accurate and he did not want to confront them.
He said, “The judge’s dismissal is no longer relevant,” and mentioned that the president had recently received a report from the council.
“If allegations had been proven, then the council would have requested the president for the judge’s dismissal.”
Justice Isa stated that all institutions, including the SC, answered to the people. She also said that “if everyone learns this thing, all the problems will be solved.”
The former judge tendered his resignation shortly after Justice (retd) Naqvi’s request for the SJC’s proceedings to be halted was denied by the top court’s three-member bench.
Lawyers and the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) brought many misconduct charges against Justice (retd) Naqvi to the SJC, requesting his dismissal. This was especially the case after his name was linked to an alleged audio leak.
The name of the top court judge has also come up in relation to the new audio leaks that allegedly include Parvez Elahi, the former chief minister of Punjab, and other people.
In response to the accusations, the SJC sent Naqvi a show-cause notice on October 27 of last year.
The SC judge questioned the investigation in his reply, urging CJP Isa and the other two judges to step down from the case.
He filed a contest on November 20 against the SJC proceedings as well as the council’s show-cause notice, arguing that the procedures were started unlawfully and coram non-judice.
Later, on November 22, the SJC sent a second show cause notice, requesting that the judge provide a thorough answer to the accusations made by several petitioners.
