Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi. — Supreme Court website/File


Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi. — Supreme Court website/File

The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Friday filed a reference against Supreme Court Judge Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi for “misconduct” after his name surfaced in connection with the recent audio leaks purportedly involving him, former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi and others.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Lawyers Forum Punjab on March 5 filed a reference against the sitting judge of the apex court for allegedly violating “the judicial code of conduct, the Constitution and the law”.

The PCB filed its complaint of misconduct against the sitting judge of the top court with the SJC under Section 5(1) of the Supreme Judicial Council Procedure of Inquiry, 2005 read with Article 2009 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

“Article-III of the Code of conduct requires a judge to be about the approach and for this purpose to keep his conduct in all things, official and/or private, free from impropriety is expected of a judge. The conduct exhibited and displayed by the respondent judge in audio leaks is a clear violation of the referred article,” the reference alleged.

In its reference, the PBC stated that the Punjab ex-chief minister, in the viral audio, “is found to be clearly instructing a learned counsel to get an important case fixed before the respondent judge.

The lawyers’ body said that it has created and triggered a public perception on a larger scale against the independence, sanctity and dignity of the superior judiciary, warranting inquiry into the matter.

The reference further alleged that the assets of the respondent judge clearly present a lucid picture of his assets being disproportionate to the source of his lawfully known income.


More to come…

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