Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri. Photo courtesy: IHC
ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declared a quo warranto petition accusing IHC judge Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri of possessing a false maintainable law degree. He also eventually sent notices to the judge and other defendants and requested written responses within three days.
An IHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Azam Khan issued this order on Tuesday after hearing arguments on maintainability of the petition filed by advocate Mian Dawood.
During the hearing, Islamabad Advocate General Ayaz Shaukat told the court that according to a report submitted by the University of Karachi (KU), Islamia Law School, an institute affiliated to KU, has declared Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri “an unknown individual”.
The petitioner, Mian Dawood Advocate, argued that under Article 193 of the Constitution, a high court judge must be a lawyer.
He said Justice Jahangiri was not even qualified to be a lawyer, let alone a judge. He added that whether the allegation is true or false, it is now up to Justice Jahangiri to prove that his title is genuine.
The lawyer representing the Islamabad Bar Association, Advocate Ahmed Hasan, argued that the petitioner, Mian Dawood, is not an aggrieved party.
He stated that to become a judge of the High Court, ten years of legal practice are required and the issuance of a license for legal practice is the responsibility of the relevant bar association. “If there is any defect in title or eligibility to practice law, the matter should be taken to the bar council, not the court.”
He further warned that if a high court judge initiates legal proceedings against another judge, it would damage the judicial system.
He added that after practicing law, Justice Jahangiri was appointed as a judge by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), and the matter should be placed before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), as a higher court cannot conduct investigations in such cases.
Islamabad Bar Council member Raja Aleem Abbasi argued that matters related to judges should be handled by the JCP, while matters related to defense fall to the bar council.
He also objected to CJ Dogar sitting on the bench, stating that since a petition against Dogar’s transfer to the IHC, filed by Justice Jahangiri, is pending before the Federal Constitutional Court, he should not hear this case.
Abbasi requested the court to transfer the case to another court.
The court-appointed amicus curiae, advocate Zafarullah Khan, also presented arguments on the maintainability of the quo warranto order.
The Chief Justice commented that the university categorically stated that Justice Jahangiri was never a student of Islamia Law School.
The court subsequently issued notices to Justice Jahangiri, the federal government through the Law Ministry, the president through his principal secretary, the JCP secretary and the Parliamentary Committee for Appointment of Judges, directing all respondents to submit their responses within three days.
Earlier, KU submitted its report stating that Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri was found guilty in 1989 by the Unfair Means Committee of cheating in the LLB Part I examination and threatening the examiner, resulting in a three-year ban.
Although he was eligible to reappear in the exams in 1992, he allegedly used a fake registration form from 1990, changing names and registration numbers several times to acquire mark sheets and the degree.
