Resignation of Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi has been accepted

On the prime minister’s recommendation, the president accepted Justice Naqvi’s resignation.

ISLAMABAD: In response to accusations of misbehavior, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi chose to renounce his position, and President Dr. Arif Alvi accepted his resignation on Thursday.

According to the President’s Office, Dr. Alvi accepted Justice Naqvi’s resignation in accordance with Article 179, per the prime minister’s recommendation.

A day earlier, Justice Naqvi had delivered his resignation letter to the president, stating that he was no longer able to continue serving as a justice on the Supreme Court.

Lawyers and the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) lodged many misconduct charges against Justice Naqvi with the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) in an attempt to have him removed. This was especially the case after his name was linked to an alleged audio leak.

Justice Naqvi wrote, “It was an honour to be appointed and to serve as a judge, first of the Lahore High Court and then as the Supreme Court of Pakistan.” He also stated that he could no longer hold the position of Supreme Court judge due to the circumstances, which were a matter of public knowledge and, to some extent, public record.

He had written in his resignation letter, “I, therefore, resign as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, effective today, due process also compels.”

The resignation occurred after Justice Naqvi’s request for the SJC’s proceedings to be halted was denied by a three-judge panel of the supreme court, which was presided over by Justice Aminuddin Khan and included Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhel and Musarrat Hilali.

On October 27, of last year, the SJC sent Justice Naqvi a show-cause notice in response to multiple charges that the SC judge had engaged in financial wrongdoing and bench manipulation.

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In reply, the judge of the Supreme Court brought up concerns about the investigation and demanded that Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and two other justices step down from the case.

He filed a contest on November 20 against the SJC proceedings as well as the council’s show-cause notice, arguing that the procedures were started unlawfully and coram non-judice.

Later, on November 22, the SJC sent a second show cause notice, requesting that the judge provide a thorough answer to the accusations made by several petitioners.

Then, on January 4, Justice Naqvi filed a petition before the supreme court pursuant to Article 184(3) of the Constitution, characterizing the misconduct accusations brought against him as an overt assault on the judiciary’s independence.

It’s significant to remember that the name of the top court judge also came up in relation to the recent audio leaks that were allegedly about him, former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi, and other people.

Judge Naqvi, who was promoted to the top court on March 16, 2020, gained notoriety in January 2020 when he rendered a decision in favor of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf while serving as a judge on the Lahore High Court (LHC).

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Justice Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti, and Justice Chaudhry Masood Jahangir made up the LHC bench.

The day he submitted his resignation, the Supreme Court overturned the contentious ruling from the LHC.