As the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) is set to meet today to hear complaints against SC judges, Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi filed a petition in the Supreme Court, terming the malicious campaign and consequent complaints against him a direct and blatant attack on the independence of the judiciary.
The SC judge has also accused the SJC of subjecting him to a “media trial” which has further maligned and ridiculed him in the public eye.
Justice Naqvi’s plea challenged the show-cause notice issued to him by the judicial panel on October 27.
Justice Mazhar Naqvi has hired the services of lawyers Makhdoom Ali Khan, Khawaja Haris, Latif Khosa, Ali Zafar and Saad Hashmi to represent him in the reference.
The SJC, on the other hand, scheduled to meet today after Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, on Friday, had summoned its meeting to review the complaints against Justices Sayyed Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi and Sardar Tariq Masood.
“These are violative of and inconsistent with the right to access to justice guaranteed under Articles 4, 9 and 10A of the Constitution,” it read, adding that Justice Naqvi reserves the right to “urge further grounds and submit additional material in support thereof at the time of hearing”.
The Supreme Court judge, in this petition, mentioned that the complaints against him are “mala fide and non-est”.
“The proceedings of the SJC and the SCN are without jurisdiction, coram non judice and void ab initio. These are without lawful authority and of no legal effect,” the plea read.
It added that these complaints give rise to the following question of public importance with reference to the enforcement of fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
