Jahangiri swears on the Quran that his diploma is authentic and warns of ‘disastrous’ legal precedent
ISLAMABAD:
Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar has dismissed objections raised over his attendance at a hearing on an a quo warranto petition accusing a brother judge, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri of the IHC, of holding an invalid law degree.
CJ Dogar noted that Justice Jahangiri will get justice from his court like all other litigants.
On Monday, a division bench headed by Justice Dogar and comprising Justice Muhammad Azam Khan resumed hearing of the quo warranto petition filed by Mian Dawood Advocated.
Justice Jahangiri, who was asked by the court during the last hearing on December 9 to submit a response in three days, appeared before the court himself. Islamabad Bar Council members Raja Aleem Abbasi, Zafar Khokhar and others were also present.
The court ordered the lawyers to take their seats, saying: “Please sit down. Mr. Jahangiri is no longer a lawyer; he’s my colleague. A respected judge appeared in court. We only want to hear from Justice Jahangiri. »
Justice Tariq Jahangiri said he received the court’s notice on Thursday. He said the case was 34 years old and sought time to get a copy of the petition. He again objected to the chief justice being part of the judiciary.
“You are a judge, and I am also a judge. I have filed a petition against your transfer [to the IHC] and seniority. This is a conflict of interest and you cannot oppose me in this matter,” he said.
According to Justice Jahangiri, in the judicial history of Pakistan, India or even the world, it has never happened that a judge prevented another judge from carrying out his judicial work. “I have been prevented from working on a case involving an objection. My objection is that you should not hear this case,” he said.
On September 16, the bench, while considering the petition, prevented Justice Jahangiri from carrying out his duties. The IHC judge and several of his colleagues then appealed to the Supreme Court, which on September 30 overturned the interim order of the division chamber.
Responding to Justice Jahangiri’s objections, the Chief Justice said that he, Jahangiri, would receive justice like anyone else. Justice Jahangiri further held that a writ of quo warranto is never heard by a division bench but by a single bench.
He said that by scheduling the hearing before a divisional bench, his right to appeal the decision in the court was also taken away.
He said in this way that even a patwari or a peon is not stopped from working. He said that even in murder cases, charges are framed after seven days, while he was only given three days’ notice.
He urged the court not to proceed in this manner in a quo warranto petition, warning that setting such a legal precedent would have disastrous consequences.
Justice Jahangiri said the university never said the diploma was fake or that it had not been issued. He once again swore on the Holy Quran, invoking Allah as his witness, that his diploma is authentic. He reiterated that the university never declared the diploma false nor denied issuing it.
The judge said the Sindh High Court (SHC) had stayed the order canceling his degree, following which his degree was reinstated. The IHC then summoned the registrar of the University of Karachi (KU), along with the complete file, on December 18.
He also ordered that a copy of the application and all related documents submitted therewith be provided to the concerned judge. Lawyer Mian Dawood requested that the matter be heard daily. The court adjourned further hearing in the case till December 18.
Last year, the KU union canceled the IHC judge diploma. On September 25, after the IHC blocked the judge from carrying out his duties, the university also issued a notice confirming its union’s decision. The SHC, however, suspended KU’s notification on October 4.
