SC accepts Siddiqui’s plea against his sacking as IHC judge

ISLAMABAD: Former judge of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui’s appeal challenging the Supreme Judicial Council’s (SJC) decision that saw him removed from his post has been accepted by the Supreme Court (SC) for initial hearing.

The written order, issued on Tuesday, stated the former judge’s petition had been accepted for initial hearing after the top court turned down the registrar’s objections. The registrar office was ordered to fix the petition in accordance with the law.

Siddiqui was removed as judge of the IHC during a hearing of the SJC in October last year. The order read the petitioner had challenged the contents of the SJC dated October 11, 2018. The decision of the SJC could be challenged under Article 184(3) of the Constitution. The top court, in an earlier verdict, had maintained the SJC “has no status of a court”.

The registrar office had earlier returned Siddiqui’s petition, citing objections. The Tuesday order stated the objections of the registrar office were “technical in nature”, and were turned down by the court on the petitioner’s appeal.On March 25, a five-member bench, headed by Justice Mushir Alam conducted a hearing over the Siddiqui’s appeal.