The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday ruled that the resignation or retirement of an apex court judge would not dispose of Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) proceedings already under way against them.
A five-member bench delivered a four-to-one majority decision during a hearing on the federal government’s intra-court appeal against the apex court’s 2023 verdict in the Afiya Shehrbano Zia case, which had held that judges who either retire or resign cannot be questioned by the SJC over alleged misconduct.
The bench was headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan and included Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Musarrat Hilali and Irfan Saadat Khan while Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi dissented from the majority decision.
The bench said that only the SJC would have the authority to terminate the proceedings.
Last month, former SC judge Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi — who was facing complaints of misconduct — resigned from the apex court, however, the SJC had decided to continue the hearing of complaints against the judge despite his resignation.
The federal government had also subsequently appealed the decision in the Afiya Shehrbano Zia case which was accepted by the apex court.
The federal government had pleaded that the 2023 verdict, issued by a two-judge bench, including the now-retired Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, made the SJC “virtually redundant” by making Article 209 inapplicable to judges who either retire or resign.
On Feb 12, the five-judge bench hearing the appeal had appointed former attorney general Khalid Jawed Khan, senior counsel Khawaja Muhammad Haris, Abdul Moiz Jaferii, and Faisal Siddiqui as amici.
The bench had sought assistance in determining whether pending proceedings before SJC were abated if the judge retires or resigns.
The court had also asked if the judge’s resignation — at a time when the SJC is hearing complaints against them — was tantamount to avoiding accountability under Article 209 of the Constitution.
