Dogar-led bank declares LLB degree ‘invalid’; The president approves denotification on the advice of the prime minister
Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri. Photo courtesy: IHC
ISLAMABAD:
On Thursday, the Islamabad High Court set a precedent by removing one of its own judges, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, accused of possessing an invalid LLB degree.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and comprising Justice Muhammad Azam Khan issued a brief three-page order on a plea questioning the legitimacy of Justice Jahangiri’s law degree and his appointment as a judge.
The order issued after hearing the quo warranto petition filed by advocate Mian Daud against Jahangiri, whose five-year term as a judge will end on December 31, said that at the time of Jahangiri’s appointment as an additional judge of the IHC, “as well as at the time of his confirmation as a judge of the Islamabad High Court, he did not have a valid LLB degree, which is a prerequisite for registration as a lawyer.”
“When he could not be considered as a lawyer, consequently, he was not eligible to be appointed as a judge of a high court in terms of the requirements of Article 175-A of the Constitution. Therefore, he immediately assumed charge as a judge of the Islamabad High Court,” the order added.
“The court ordered that a copy of this order be sent to the Ministry of Justice to withdraw his notification as a judge of this court.”
The court also rejected all of the court’s objections as well as the way quo warranto proceedings were conducted in the case. Senior advocate Akram Sheikh and advocate Salahuddin Ahmed appeared for Jahangiri.
Sheikh raised strong objections to CJ Dogar to hear the matter. Likewise, lawyer Salahuddin Ahmed wondered how the IHC could address the matter in the presence of a stay of Karachi University’s proceedings in the Tariq Jahangiri case by the Sindh High Court.
The court said that the objections raised by the IHC Registrar’s Office are sustained by the reasons to be recorded in the detailed judgment.
The IHC order further noted that Jahangiri was given ample opportunity to file his reply along with the disputed educational credentials, but he failed to do so for reasons best known to him. “Therefore, this court is left with no choice but to pursue the matter further,” the order reads.
He added that the qualification to hold the office of judge of a high court is personal to the individual and has no connection with the performance of his duties as a court or as a member of the court. The conditions for the appointment of judges of the High Courts are duly provided for in the Constitution.
“Possession of the qualifications prescribed by the Constitution is sine qua non for a person to hold the office of judge of a High Court.”
Meanwhile, late in the evening, President Asif Ali Zardari approved the denotification of Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri as a judge of the Islamabad High Court, following the advice of the prime minister.
The denotification has been issued in compliance with the Islamabad High Court’s decision, which declared his appointment as a judge illegal and ordered him to leave office.
Advocate Salahuddin Ahmed, appearing for Jahangiri, while commenting on the order, said that a judge who dared to complain of being pressured by the government and intelligence agencies to decide cases in a particular manner; from whose bedroom a secret video camera/transmitter was discovered – has been successfully removed without his complaints being investigated.
“After the 26th and 27th amendments, we have entered a new phase of judicial activism, in which judges are used to carry out witch hunts against other judges and remove them from office on flimsy grounds, through blatantly illegal procedures and without concern for even the most basic standards of fair trial and impartiality. However, this ‘activism’ is carried out under the direction of outsiders and only against judges who dare to resist outside influence,” he adds.
Lawyer Salahuddin Ahmed also lamented that it is a day of shame for all judges who, through complicity or acquiescence, have facilitated the destruction of the judicial institution.
Lawyer Asad Rahim Khan says this is a shameful episode in our judicial history and it is still unfolding. The persecution of Judge Jahangiri has nothing to do with his law degree, but with the fact that he would try to bring justice to a stolen election.
“The charges against Iftikhar Chaudhry and Qazi Faez Isa were much more substantial and, in particular, arose from misconduct while in office, but the principle still prevailed: that these judges were in the crosshairs of the deep state for their court orders, and not for the allegations against them. In this way, both were given the benefit of context and were allowed to retain their positions,” it added.
Advocate Asad Rahim Khan further states that in Justice Jahangiri’s case, however, we see a retrospective fishing expedition. “This Dogar Court will carry out the same historic verdict as the previous Dogar Court,” he added.
“Former additional attorney general Tariq Mahmood Khokhar says Justice Jahangiri’s removal transcends his personal tragedy: it can be read as a precursor to a deeper judicial purge.”
Khokhar claims that once a pattern is established for removing high court judges through evaluative pretexts, contested authority and procedural haste, the process can be replicated to target other independent judges.
“Over time, these selective actions will systematically alter the composition of the judiciary. The unfortunate result will be a more compliant judiciary.”
Khokhar also said that the Chief Justice owes his transfer and appointment to the contested 26th Constitutional Amendment. Jahangiri was one of the Islamabad High Court judges who challenged his transfer and appointment as the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court.
Justice Muhammad Azam Khan is an additional judge. Your confirmation will be determined by the executive. A clear case of conflict of interest for the two-member bench.
“The long tradition of security in office of our judiciary was always vulnerable to the threat of extra-constitutionalists. Now it can also be circumvented by the executive.”
In the end, former additional attorney general Khokhar says that for most observers, Jahangiri’s impartial scrutiny of the electoral process was the root cause of his ouster.
Jahangiri’s nemesis included executive overreach, lack of due process and an unfair court, he adds.
