The Supreme Court reserved its judgment on an appeal of former judge of the Islamabad High Court, Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, against his removal from office.
A five-judge bench of the court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, heard the appeal. The CJP said, if deemed necessary, the case could be re-heard.
At the outset of the proceedings, Siddiqui’s counsel Hamid Khan said that their case was about the Supreme Judicial Council conducting an inquiry first, as they would have got an opportunity to question former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief L Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed.
The chief justice asked if the judge could be removed even if his allegations proved correct during the inquiry despite the fact that he made those allegations in public.
The counsel asked the court to quash the initial proceedings against Shaukat Siddiqui. After that, a commission should be formed and an inquiry conducted afresh.
The CJP asked if the matter could be referred back to the Supreme Judicial Council. Hamid Khan replied in the affirmative.
Faiz Hameed’s lawyer Khawaja Haris said there were two different sides to this issue, one of which is that Shaukat Siddiqui levelled allegations in public.
The CJP said the allegations were also serious, adding that it was also a matter of independence of the judiciary. “You also agree that a judge should not be removed without a valid reason,” he questioned.
Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel asked if it was appropriate for a judge to level allegations the way he did, adding that the judge did not deny the speech.
“If a judge is removed only on the basis of a speech, half of the judiciary would go home,” CJP Isa remarked, adding that many judges addressed bar councils.
He also said that the text of the speech had to be seen, further saying that if the proceedings against the judge were quashed it would be akin to accepting his allegations as true.
Hamid Khan said that the report against Shaukat Siddiqui should be annulled and the matter remanded to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).
Khawaja Haris said Shaukat Siddiqui was no longer a judge so his case could not be sent to the SJC.
Haris said the then chief justice of the Islamabad High Court had denied Siddiqui’s allegations. If someone had approached Shaukat Siddiqui, he should have issued a contempt notice.
“Maybe he was frustrated to the point that he decided to go public,” the CJP remarked.
CJP Isa remarked that the case pertained to the independence of the judiciary, adding that both Faiz Hameed and Shaukat Siddiqui belonged to institutions run on public money.
