Islamabad: The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Wednesday issued another show-cause notice to Supreme Court judge Justice Mazahar Ali Naqvi over allegations of financial misconduct.
The notice, issued with a majority of four to one, sought clarification from Justice Naqvi on 10 points within 14 days.
The SJC meeting on the third consecutive day was held under the chairmanship of Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Justice Amir Bhatti, and Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court Justice Naeem Afghan attended the meeting as members of the top judicial body.
During the lengthy sessions, complaints were thoroughly examined, and after assessing the content of the complaints, the council decided to proceed with the complaints, the source added.
Justice Ijazul Ahsan dissented from the majority order. The council directed Justice Naqvi to submit a written reply to the show cause in 14 days. During its October 27 session, the SJC had reviewed 29 complaints filed against different judges. It had dismissed 19 of them but issued Justice Naqvi a show cause notice for the remaining 10 that accused him of financial misconduct. The council had, by a majority vote, asked for Naqvi's reply within 14 days.
On November 10, Justice Naqvi submitted his response to the show cause notice. In his response, he accused three SJC members—Justice Isa, Justice Masood, and Justice Afghan—of bias and requested their recusal. Despite Justice Naqvi's objections, the SJC set a hearing for November 20 to review the complaints against him.
Later, Justice Naqvi lodged a petition in the apex court requesting the court to nullify the misconduct allegations against him, deeming them ‘without lawful authority and of no legal effect.’