SJC disposes of complaints against judges, ‘frivolous’ complainants to face music

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Judicial Council examined 10 complaints filed against judges under Article 209 of the Constitution filed by different people and held that no substantial evidence had been adduced by the complainants. The SJC has disposed of (filed) those complaints, said a press release issued by the Supreme Court Public Relations Officer.

“A meeting of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) was held on Friday under the chair of Chief Justice of Pakistan/Chairman Supreme Judicial Council Justice Yahya Afridi. The meeting was attended by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Aamir Farooq, Chief Justice Islamabad High Court and Justice Muhammad Hashim Kakar, Chief Justice High Court of Balochistan,” it said.

The Council has decided to hold regular meetings on monthly basis in future to clear the backlog on fast track. In case of frivolous complaints, action will be taken against the complainants in accordance with law, said the press release.

“The Council took up for consideration various agenda items. The Council discussed in detail the issue of rule-making of the Council and establishment of its Secretariat. The Council agreed to the proposal of Registrar and decided that rule making process of the Council should be undertaken and draft should be placed before the council in the next meeting,” according to the press release.

“The Council authorised the chairman to hire the services of a competent individual with proven ability to work as secretary of the Council for a period of three months who would be tasked to assist the Council in conducting its meetings, oversee rule making exercise, and firm up infrastructure and human resource requirements of the Council’s secretariat,” it said.

The Council also discussed the agenda items regarding amendments in the code of conduct of judges under Article 209(8) of the Constitution and letter of six judges of Islamabad High Court. The Council considered different options and modalities in this regard and decided to widen the consultation on the subject as the code applies to the heads of different institutions in addition to judges and decided to take up the matter in the next meeting once again, it said.

“The Council examined ten complaints against the Judges under Article 209 of the Constitution filed by different people and held that no substantial evidence has been adduced by the complainants, therefore the Council has filed those complaints.”

Meanwhile, a second meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan constituted under the 26th Constitutional Amendment was held in the Supreme Court on Friday.

The meeting was chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi, who is also the Chairman of the Judicial Commission, to consider a single point agenda of formation of a constitutional bench within the High Court of Sindh.

It was attended by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail (via video link); Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, Chief Justice High Court of Sindh, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Federal Minister for Law and Justice; Mr. Mansoor Usman Awan, Attorney-General for Pakistan; Senator Farooq Hamid Naek; Senator Syed Shibli Faraz; Sheikh Aftab Ahmad, Member of the National Assembly; Mr. Umar Ayub Khan, Member of the National Assembly; Ms. Roshan Khurshid Barucha, Mr. Zia ul Hassan Lanjar, Minister of law Government of Sindh and Qurban Ali Malano, member Sindh Bar Council. The Registrar of the Supreme Court also attended as Secretary to the Commission.

“Following an extensive and thoughtful exchange of views, the Commission unanimously endorsed the proposal put forth by the Chief Justice of the High Court of Sindh Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui that all the existing judges of the high court are nominated to be the judges of constitutional benches for expeditious disposal of the existing huge backlog of cases,” the press release said.

This arrangement will remain effective until November 24, 2024. The matter will again be taken by judicial commission on November 25, 2024, said a press release.