The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday ruled a petition seeking the verification of Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri’s law degree to be maintainable, and it directed the judge to submit a reply within three days.
The petition, filed by lawyer Mian Daud, challenges the validity of the IHC judge’s LLB degree and asks for a judicial determination on whether he lawfully held his position as a high court judge. The court had previously reserved its decision on the petition’s maintainability in July of the previous year.
A two-member IHC bench consisting of Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Azam Khan delivered the verdict today after considering the arguments presented.
During the hearing, Ahmed Hassan Shah, representing the District Bar Association, argued that the issue should be referred to the Islamabad Bar Council, which issues legal licenses. He also contended that allegations of misconduct against any judge fall under Article 209 of the Constitution, which governs the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).
CJ Dogar noted that the case concerns a judge’s eligibility to hold office, not misconduct. Nevertheless, the lawyer maintained that the SJC—Pakistan’s premier body for judicial accountability examining misconduct claims—was the proper forum for this matter.
He additionally argued that Article 199, which deals with the jurisdiction of the high court and under which Daud’s petition was filed, should not apply in a scenario where Article 209 could be relevant. The lawyer asserted that the judiciary itself cannot act against its own members, stating, “Judges cannot proceed against one another.” He argued that the court cannot exercise its Article 199 jurisdiction in such competing circumstances.
More to follow.
