Islamabad — Islamabad High Court’s Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri has petitioned the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing against the September 16 order that barred him from performing judicial duties over doubts surrounding his Karachi University law degree.
The controversy stems from a letter, widely circulated on social media last year, allegedly casting doubt on his qualification. A complaint had been filed before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) in July 2024, but the matter saw little progress until recently — raising serious questions over the credibility and efficiency of the top judicial accountability forum.
Critics argue that the SJC has “woken up after years of slumber,” only acting after the IHC division bench intervened, thereby undermining its constitutional role as the primary forum for judicial accountability. Legal experts warn that such delayed responses not only damage public trust in the judiciary but also open the door for ad-hoc interventions by benches, straitjacketing judges from performing their duties without due process.
Justice Jahangiri contends that the restraining order is legally flawed, deprives him of his constitutional role without hearing his defence, and threatens judicial independence. His plea stresses that the Supreme Court must urgently intervene to restore him so he may resume judicial functions before irreparable time is lost from his tenure.
The case adds to the growing unrest within the IHC, where five judges have already moved the Supreme Court over bench formations, case transfers, and internal pressures — placing judicial credibility under intense national scrutiny.
