SJC to conduct open trial of Justice Siddiqui

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) which hears complaints of misconduct against superior court judges on Saturday made history by deciding to conduct trial of a sitting judge in open court for the first time.

Media reports said the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) led SJC accepted Islamabad High Court judge Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui’s plea to conduct inquiry regarding his misconduct in open court. Speculation states that SJC will start recording evidence in the case on July 30.

The complaint against the IHC judge has been pending since 2015 in which several charges were framed against him. The federal government hired Advocate Maulvi Anwarul Haq to represent him. On February 21, Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar announced that all complaints against superior court judges in the SJC will be decided by June. However, several complaints still remain undecided. On May 10, the SJC suspended proceedings after the IHC judge urged the apex court to hold an open trial. The top court’s larger bench headed by Justice Sheikh Azmat has already remanded the matter of holding in-camera trials for judges to the SJC for reconsideration.