The Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered the removal of Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri as a judge on Thursday, ruling that his degree for “invalid” at the time of his appointment.
A division bench led by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Azam Khan announced the judgement, which was reserved earlier today, on a plea that challenged the legitimacy of Justice Jahangiri’s law degree and appointment as a judge.
The bench directed Justice Jahangiri to cease his office forthwith for “having an invalid law degree at the time of his appointment and confirmation as a judge”.
It also directed the law ministry to denotify him as a judge.
Prior to the issuance of the judgement, University of Karachi (KU) Registrar submitted a record of Justice Jahangiri’s law degree to the court.
He said the KU syndicate had cancelled the judge’s degree for having been “secured through unfair means”.
“Justice Jahangiri was found cheating and creating disturbance in an examination hall in 1988,” following which he was debarred from sitting an exam until 1992, he said.
However, instead of complying with the decision, the judge appeared in an exam in 1989 under a changed name, the registrar alleged.
He also submitted a log pertaining to marksheets and results to justify the KU syndicate’s decision.
During his arguments, Advocate Muhammad Akram Sheikh, who was representing Justice Jahangiri, objected to the bench hearing the case.
He contended that a judge who faced legal proceedings could not hear the petition involving a fellow judge, who had challenged his posting.
In July, Justice Jahagiri, along with four other IHC judges, filed an intra-court appeal against the SC’s constitutional bench decision of upholding the seniority of the IHC that raised Justice Dogar to the top.
The five judges requested the SC not to consider Justices Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar, Khadim Hussain Soomro and Mohammad Asif as judges of IHC until they took fresh oaths in accordance with Article 194.
The intra-court appeal was fixed before the FCC following its establishment under the 27th Constitutional Amendment and eventually dismissed for non-prosecution.
This is a developing story that is being updated as the situation evolves. Initial reports in the media can sometimes be inaccurate. We will strive to ensure timeliness and accuracy by relying on credible sources, such as concerned, qualified authorities and our staff reporters.
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