Sacked IHC judge wants early hearing on his petition

ISLAMABAD: A sacked judge of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, on Wednesday requested the Supreme Court to fix next month his petition challenging the notification of the president of Pakistan, terminating his service.

He filed an application in the apex court under XXXIII Rule 6 of the Supreme Court Rules 1980 for early hearing of his petition. He submitted that he was going to retire on June 30, 2021, therefore, his instant petition may be fixed preferably on May 4, 2021 in the interest of justice. He submitted that since his removal from office, he said he like millions of other citizens has been guaranteed fundamental rights. It is a universally-recognized principle that justice delayed is justice denied, he contended.

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 issued on October 11, 2018, terminating his service.

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