IHC declares plea challenging justice Tariq Jahangiri’s degree maintainable

Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday declared a petition challenging the academic credentials of Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri maintainable, and issued a notice to him to submit a written reply within three days.

The petition — filed by lawyer Mian Daud — questions the legitimacy of Justice Jahangiri’s LLB degree from University of Karachi (KU) and seeks a judicial decision on whether he lawfully holds office as a high court judge.

IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Azam Khan heard the case. The matter had remained pending since a previous reservation of decision on the plea’s maintainability in July last year.

During proceedings, a representative of the District Bar Association argued the case should be referred to the Islamabad Bar Council (IBC), noting that allegations against a judge typically fall under judicial misconduct and should go before the Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan (SJC) under Article 209 of the Constitution.

However, Chief Justice Dogar responded that the case was not about misconduct — but about the “eligibility” of a judge to hold office, thereby making the plea maintainable under Article 199 of the Constitution.

Earlier, the SHC had suspended Karachi University’s decision to cancel the law degree of Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri. The SHC decision came days after the Supreme Court (SC) had declared a separate IHC order barring him from judicial duties as null and void.