Due to misconduct allegations and other complaints, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has begun proceedings against Supreme Court Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi.
As reported by the media, Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial, the SJC head, has referred the complaints against Justice Naqvi to the senior SJC members for examination.
The SJC includes Justice Qazi Faiz Isa, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, Justice Ahmed Ali Muhammad Sheikh, and the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti. CJP Bandial directed the matter to the SJC’s SJC’sr member for validation of the references filed against the judge by the Pakistan Bar Council, among others.
Justice Naqvi has come under scrutiny following an audio leak associated with him. The alleged audio features former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi discussing court manipulation.
Numerous references have been submitted against Naqvi in the SJC for alleged misconduct and possessing assets beyond his means. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has also accused him of bias against the party.
In April, two senior apex court judges, Justice Isa and Justice Masood, requested the CJP call an SJC meeting to investigate the misconduct complaints filed against Justice Naqvi.
Earlier this month, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) asked the relevant authorities to provide the asset details of Supreme Court Justice Naqvi. This followed the National Assembly’Assembly’sto the PAC to perform a special audit of Justice Naqvi’s aNaqvi’s and income sources in light of corruption allegations against him.
