Imran Ammar
ISLAMABAD: A full bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday initiated contempt of court proceedings against those involved in the smear campaign against Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri.
Jahangiri is not part of the full court headed by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz are part of the full bench.
In a social media campaign, questions were raised about the authenticity of Justice Jahangiri’s educational attainment, which was labeled as “invalid”. Subsequently, a case was also submitted to the Supreme Council of the Judiciary in the same matter.
Addressing the Additional Attorney General of the IHC, the CJ said the court could no longer tolerate the malicious campaign.
The IHC, he said, had taken action in a similar matter earlier, but no one had learned from it. He warned that anyone involved in the campaign would be brought to justice.
The chief justice said it was the responsibility of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to stop such campaigns.
Justice Aurangzeb said the government did not take any action when proceedings were taken against the judges.
According to sources, the entire IHC court was scheduled to meet on Monday evening to discuss the matter of the social media campaign and the reference against Justice Jahangiri’s education. However, the judges later decided to hear the contempt case on the same day.
Notably, Jahangiri was a member of the group of IHC judges who wrote a letter on March 25 asking Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa to convene a judicial assembly to consider the matter of alleged interference or “intimidation” by intelligence personnel in judicial functions. ” judges in a way that undermines the independence of the judiciary.
Six judges of the IHC — Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, Justice Jahangiri, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Justice Saman Rifat Imtiaz.
Meanwhile, in a press conference, officials of the Islamabad Bar Association (IHCBA) said that state institutions should function by staying within their own jurisdictions and not encroaching on foreign domain. They said that when the judge was appointed, intelligence agencies verified his titles while his background check was also done.
On the other hand, the IHCBA has called an “extraordinary meeting” of its executive committee on Tuesday on the same issue.
In a statement, the IHCBA condemned the campaign as harmful, adding that Justice Jahangiri is a capable and hardworking judge.
The Bar Association said Justice Jahangiri had a distinguished career as a lawyer and Deputy Attorney General. The IHCBA strongly believes in the independence and autonomy of the judiciary, the statement concludes.
