ISLAMABAD:
Next week, on December 9, an authorized official of the University of Karachi “fully conversant with the facts” relating to Islamabad High Court (IHC) Judge Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri’s LLB degree will appear before the IHC along with the original registration pertaining to his degree.
The court-appointed amicus curiae will also present arguments that same day on the maintainability of the quo warranto petition, accusing the judge of having a dubious law degree.
Based on the record and the arguments presented, the court will decide on the maintainability of the petition, according to an order issued by the court regarding its proceedings dated December 2.
While hearing the petition filed by advocate Mian Dawood, an IHC bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Azam Khan on December 2 directed the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to produce the judge’s educational record.
In its order, the court noted that it was requisitioning Justice Jahangiri’s original file from the University of Karachi through the HEC “without touching the merits of the case at this stage”.
Interestingly, a larger bench of the Supreme Court, while hearing petitions filed against a September order of the same bench barring Jahangiri from performing official duties, directed the IHC to first determine the maintainability of the quo warranto petition.
Some experts are of the opinion that a high court cannot entertain a petition filed against a sitting judge as the proper forum to address such a complaint is the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).
The division bench, comprising Justice Dogar and Justice Khan, had on September 16 restrained Jahangiri from discharging his duties while issuing notices on the petition filed by advocate Mian Dawood.
The court also sought the assistance of Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan on the issue of whether the petition was maintainable. He also appointed senior lawyers Barrister Zafarullah Khan and Ashtar Ali Ausaf as amici curiae.
The court noted that until the SJC decided the matter, the judge could not handle the cases. Subsequently, the IHC judge and several of his colleagues filed a petition before the Supreme Court, which on September 30 quashed the division bench’s interim order.
Last year, the Karachi University union canceled the title of IHC judge. On September 25, the university also issued a notice confirming its union’s decision.
