An accountability court judge on Friday moved a petition in the Supreme Court Lahore registry challenging Lahore High Court orders that had restrained him from conducting judicial work.
The petition was filed by Syed Ali Hassan Rizvi, Judge Accountability Court-III, Lahore stating that a LHC division bench on May 30, 2011 had stopped him from holding court passing orders on a petition against his appointment as an accountability court judge.
The petitioner-judge contended that the LHC’s division bench’s orders were passed without hearing his point of view and therefore the orders were illegal. He claimed that he was appointed accountability court judge as per procedure after retirement as district and session judge.
He asked the Supreme Court to set aside the LHC orders so that he be allowed to continue his judicial work.
Earlier, a LHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry and Justice Mazhar Iqbal Sidhu barred Judge Syed Ali Hassan Rizvi from conducting judicial work on a petition filed by Muhammad Shahzad. The petitioner submitted in his petition that Syed Ali Hassan Rizvi was working as a judge Accountability Court-III, Lahore till October, 2010, when he was retired from service.
He said that two days after his retirement, Ali Hassan Rizvi was appointed through a notification as Judge Accountability Court-III, Lahore in violation of the National Judicial Policy (NJP).
The petitioner referring to NJP quoted “ Instead of appointing retired judges/judicial officers as presiding officers of the special court/tribunal, qualified serving judges be appointed against these posts in consultation with chief justice of the high court”.
He contended that as per information the appointment of the respondent as judge was opposed by then Lahore High Court Chief Justice and therefore was contrary to policy. He had asked the court to set aside the notification for respondent’s appointment and declare it illegal.
