Dogar-led bench declares LLB degree ‘invalid’; The President approves deregistration on the PM’s advice
Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri. Photo: IHC
ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court on Thursday set a precedent by removing one of its own judges, namely Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, on charges of having an invalid LLB degree.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and comprising Justice Muhammad Azam Khan issued a three-page brief order on a plea challenging the legitimacy of Justice Jahangiri’s law degree and his appointment as a judge.
The order, issued after hearing a quo warranto petition filed by Mian Daud’s lawyer against Jahangiri, whose five-year tenure as a judge ends on December 31, said that at the time of Jahangiri’s appointment as an additional judge in the IHC, “as well as at the time of his confirmation as a judge in the Islamic LLB degree, he did not have the prerequisite of having a High Court, for admission as an advocate”.
“As he could not be considered a lawyer, he was therefore not eligible for elevation as a Judge of a High Court in accordance with the requirements of Article 175-A of the Constitution. Therefore, he resorted to holding office as a Judge of the Islamabad High Court with immediate effect,” the order added.
The court ordered that the copy of this order be sent to the Ministry of Law to deregister him as a judge of this court.”
The court also dismissed all objections to the court as well as the manner in which the quo warranto proceedings were conducted in the case. Senior advocate Akram Sheikh and advocate Salahuddin Ahmed appeared for Jahangiri.
Sheikh raised strong objections to CJ Dogar hearing the case. Likewise, lawyer Salahuddin Ahmed wondered how the IHC could proceed in the case in the presence of a stay on the Karachi University proceedings in Tariq Jahangiri’s case at the Sindh High Court.
The court said objections raised by the IHC Registrar Office are sustained for the reasons to be recorded in detailed judgment.
The IHC order further noted that they gave ample opportunity to Jahangiri to submit his reply along with disputed educational credentials but he failed to do so for the reasons best known to him. “As such, this court has left no option but to proceed with the case,” the order reads.
It added that the qualification to hold office as a judge of a High Court is personal to the individual and has no connection with the performance of office as a judge or as a member of the court. The qualifications for appointment of judges to the supreme courts are duly laid down in the constitution.
“Possession of the qualifications prescribed by the Constitution is a prerequisite for a person to hold the office of judge of a Superior Court.”
Meanwhile, in a late night development, President Asif Ali Zardari approved the de-notification of Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri as a judge of the Islamabad High Court on the advice of the Prime Minister.
The cancellation has been issued in accordance with the decision of the Islamabad High Court, which declared his appointment as a judge illegal and ordered him to vacate office.
Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed, who appeared for Jahangiri while commenting on the order, said that a judge who dared to complain of being pressured by the government and intelligence agencies to decide cases in a certain way; from whose bedroom a secret video camera/transmitter was discovered – has been removed without any investigation into his complaints.
“After the 26th and 27th Amendments, we have entered a new phase of judicial activism; where judges are used to conduct witch-hunts against fellow judges and remove them from office on flimsy grounds, through patently illegal procedures and without concern for even the most basic norms of due process and impartiality” is, however, only non-judicial conduct to be carried out under the direction of judges. resist external influence,” he adds.
Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed also lamented that it is a day of shame for all judges who, through complicity or acquiescence, have facilitated the destruction of the judicial institution.
Barrister Asad Rahim Khan says this is a shameful episode in our judicial history and it is still unfolding. Justice Jahangiri’s persecution has nothing to do with his law degree and everything to do with the fact that he wanted to do justice to a stolen election.
“The charges against Iftikhar Chaudhry and Qazi Faez Isa were far more substantive and – in particular – stemmed from misconduct while in office, but the principle still prevailed: that these judges were in the deep state’s crosshairs over their rulings, and not over the allegations against them. Both were thus given the benefit of context and allowed to retain their offices.
Barrister Asad Rahim Khan further states that in Justice Jahangiri’s case, however, we are seeing a retrospective fishing expedition. This Dogar court will face the same historic judgment as the previous Dogar court did,” he adds.
Former Additional Attorney General Tariq Mahmood Khokhar says Justice Jahangiri’s ouster transcends his personal tragedy: it can be read as a precursor to a deeper judicial purge.”
Khokhar states that once a template is established for removing superior judges through evaluative pretexts, challenged authority and procedural haste, the process can be replicated for other independent judges.
“Over time, such selective actions will systematically change the makeup of the judiciary. A more flexible judiciary will be the unfortunate result.”
Khokhar also said that the chief justice owes his transfer and appointment to the contested 26th constitutional amendment. Jahangiri was one of the judges of the Islamabad High Court who had challenged his transfer and appointment as Chief Justice, Islamabad High Court.
Justice Muhammad Azam Khan is an Additional Judge. His confirmation will be determined by the executive board. A clear case of conflict of interest for the two-man bench.
“Our judiciary’s long tradition of security of tenure was always vulnerable to the threat of the extra-constitutional supporters. Now it can also be circumvented by the executive branch.”
Finally, former attorney general Khokhar says that for most observers, Jahangiri’s impartial investigation into the electoral process was the root cause of his ouster.
Jahangiri’s nemesis included executive overreach, lack of due process and a less than fair bench, he adds.
