SC to hear plea of Aziz Siddiqui on 31st

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court will take up next week the petition of sacked judge of Islamabad High Court Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui challenging the notification of the President terminating his service.

A five-member larger bench headed by Justice Umer Ata Bandial will hear the petition on May 31.

Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui had filed an application in the Supreme Court on April 28, requesting for fixing his case at the earliest, as he was going to retire on June 30. He had submitted that since his removal from office he had not been employed for gain, adding that he like millions of other citizens had been guaranteed fundamental rights.

Justice Siddiqui had challenged before the apex court the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), recommending his removal from his post for misconduct as well as a notification of the government issued on Oct 11, 2018, terminating his service.

The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) had recommended the removal of Islamabad High Court judge Justice Shaukat Siddiqui from his office for leveling serious allegations against state institutions, including the judiciary and the premier state intelligence agency, during a speech at the District Bar Association, Rawalpindi.

Meanwhile President Arif Alvi on Oct 11, 2018, had terminated Justice Shaukat Siddiqui after the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) found him guilty of misconduct. On Jan 28, 2021, a five-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial while hearing the case had issued notices to the federation and the attorney-general and adjourned the matter until next month without giving date or week. Justice Umer Ata Bandial had directed Hamid Khan, counsel for the sacked judge, to address Article 211 of the Constitution that clipped the jurisdiction of challenging the proceedings of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) in any court of law.