PLF moves SJC for probe against top court sitting Justice Naqvi

While invoking jurisdiction of the Supreme Judicial Council, the PML-N Lawyers Forum (PLF) Punjab on Saturday sought initiation an investigation against top court Sayyed Justice Mazahar Ali Naqvi for allegedly committing misconduct in view of certain viral audio clips released on social media recently.

The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) is a body of top court and high courts judges, empowered under Article 209 of the Constitution of Pakistan to hear cases of misconduct against judges of high courts or Supreme Court.

Filing the complaint to head of the SJC Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial, the lawyers requested to initiate an investigation in the matter, alleging Justice Naqvi has deviated from the code of conduct and passed inconsistent orders in the same matter.

“This attitude and action runs counter to the basic spirit of Code of Conduct according to which a judge is expected to avoid treating similar causes differently,” stated the complaint.

Substantiating their claim, the applicant lawyers attached transcripts of the audio leaks with the complaint saying “it is this backdrop that we feel obligated to bring to your kind notice the violations of judicial code of conduct, Constitution of the Law by Justice Naqvi who is presently functioning as a judge of the SC”.

They further alleged Justice Naqvi “has misused his authority as a judge of the apex court in the most obvious manners”. The controversy surrounding top court judges began with two audio clips ascribed to former chief minister Punjab Pervaiz Elahi which had left the Supreme Court facing calls to open an investigation into the matter and dispel the alarming impression that brings the judiciary “under the question mark”.

Soon after, a new audio clip allegedly featuring PTI leader Yasmin Rashid and Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ghulam Mahmood Dogar emerged on social media where the male voice was heard saying that he had “his man” at the top court.

It is pertinent to mention that a day earlier, a fresh audio leak purported to be of a telephone conversation between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry and his brother Advocate Faisal Chaudhry surfaced adding fuel to the ongoing controversy involving the country’s senior judges.

In the alleged conversation between Fawad and Faisal, the names of three judges – Chief Justice Lahore High Court Muhammad Ameer Bhatti, Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and Supreme Court judge Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi come up allegedly.