Dismissal of Complaints
ISLAMABAD: A Supreme Court senior judge has recommended the dismissal of four complaints of misconduct filed against two former chief justices and two judges of the apex court.
The complaints targeted former chief justices Mian Saqib Nisar and Umer Ata Bandial, along with apex court judges Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Ayesha A Malik, and were lodged by private citizens.
One complaint alleged that a three-member apex court bench, including former chief justices Nisar and Bandial, presided over an interest-related case.
The primary issue was to determine whether the case pertained to compound or simple interest. The senior judge has reviewed these complaints and recommended their dismissal due to a lack of substantiating evidence.
The SJC, responsible for holding judges and high-ranking government officials accountable, has a five-member composition, including the chief justice of Pakistan, the two most senior Supreme Court judges, and the two most senior high court chief justices.
Following the SJC procedure, the chief justice of Pakistan referred the complaints to a senior member of the council for review. Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, a senior judge and SJC member, after scrutinizing the misconduct complaints, found no substantiated claims of misconduct and recommended declaring the complaints baseless.
One misconduct complaint against Justice Sayyed Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi, a Supreme Court judge, is still pending with Justice Masood. He has yet to provide his opinion on this complaint to the SJC.
Subsequently, the vice-chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) also filed a misconduct complaint, requesting an inquiry and the judge’s removal from the apex court.
The complaint against the judge arose after leaked audio recordings allegedly featured a conversation about influencing the case’s outcome before a specific bench or judge, involving former Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi.
