SJC orders Justice Siddiqui to explain remarks against judiciary, ISI

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Wednesday served another show-cause notice to Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui over his speech at the district bar of Rawalpindi, wherein he accused the ISI of meddling in judiciary’s affairs and blamed the higher judiciary for Pakistan’s ‘deplorable’ state of affairs.

Furthermore, the notice orders Justice Siddiqui to submit a reply by August 28.

On July 21, Justice Siddiqui’s remarks stirred controversy nationwide. While commenting on the matter during a case hearing, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had observed, “I read about the remarks of a judge in Islamabad and was deeply saddened”.

The chief justice reassured that the judiciary is completely independent and not working under anyone’s pressure.

Furthermore, the army issued a press release that stated, “An honourable judge of Islamabad High Court of Pakistan has levelled serious allegations against state institutions including honourable judiciary and the premier state intelligence agency.”

“In order to safeguard the sanctity and credibility of the state institutions, Honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan has been requested to initiate the appropriate process to ascertain the veracity of the allegations and take actions accordingly,” the press release said.

Following this, the apex court took a suo motu notice of the matter following which Justice Siddiqui asked the chief justice to constitute a judicial commission to probe his allegations and offered to resign if he’s proven wrong.

Siddiqui is also faced with a show-cause notice by the SJC for making “unwarranted comments about some important constitutional institutions” while passing an interim order in the Faizabad sit-in case last year.

Moreover, in another case, Justice Siddiqui is accused of spending more money on the refurbishment of his official residence than he was entitled to.

A complaint in this regard had been filed with the SJC — which conducts inquiries against judges on charges of misconduct — by a retired employee of the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

The SJC is the only constitutional authority mandated by Article 209 of the Constitution of Pakistan to conduct inquiries into allegations of incapacity or misconduct against a judge of the Supreme Court or of a high court.