ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that former Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui’s removal was improper and that he should now be regarded retired.
A five-member bench of Pakistan’s Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Qazi Fazi Isa, issued the verdict in a 23-page judgment. Aside from the CJP, the bench included Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan.
The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) proceeded against Justice Siddiqui on the “assumption that the truth or falseness of the allegations levelled” by the former judge was “irrelevant” according to the judgment. It also stated that the Supreme Court ruled that Justice Siddiqui failed to substantiate, independently corroborate, substantiate or prove the allegations levelled by him.
The former IHC judge’s charges against Maj Gen Faiz Hameed and a handful of his subordinates were described as “very serious” in the verdict.
“However, Justice Siddiqui was not given the opportunity to prove his charges, nor was he brought face to face with the people he had charged. When we discovered this gap, we notified all of people against whom he made charges and gave them the option to admit or deny them. “All of them have denied their stated involvement,” the order read.
The court judgment further stated that, in light of the rejoinders made to the judicial panel, it was all the more imperative for the SJC to have investigated the situation and established who was telling the truth.
