The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) recently held that controversial Supreme Court Justice (retd) Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi was guilty of misconduct, suggesting that he should have been fired before his resignation. According to the details, the council rendered its opinion in respect of the nine complaints against the former judge under Article 209(6) of the Constitution and declared him guilty of misconduct and should have been removed from the office of Judge. Meanwhile, the top judicial body discussed Article V of the Code of Conduct of the Pakistan Judiciary and observed that a reply or clarification issued by or on behalf of a Judge does not violate Article V when it comes to complaints/allegations regarding the conduct of the judges.
Retired Justice Naqvi faced serious charges of corruption, abuse of power, and professional misconduct being in service as a Supreme Court Judge. The reference was filed against him in the Supreme Judicial Council after his name surfaced in an audio leak last year. The leaked audio transcript revealed that the aforementioned judge appears to be passing an order under being approached by the concerned parties which in itself is a gross violation of his code of conduct. The reference alleged that Justice Naqvi misused authority as an apex court judge in the most obvious manner. Previously, the PDM coalition government constituted an inquiry commission comprising three Supreme Court judges to confirm the validity of the allegations against Justice Naqvi, about whom he objected and refused to cooperate. Meanwhile, Justice Naqvi raised objections over the hearing of the Supreme Judicial Council on personal grounds and sought premature retirement through resignation from his office to elude the ongoing accountability process against him.
There had been rumours in public regarding the trading of justice, the availability of paid witnesses, and frontmen of the adjudicators who help facilitate the criminals in bartering bail/pardon in reward of money/ plots or luxury vehicles for the adjudicators and their family members. However, the former Army Chief General Retired Qamar Javed Bajwa categorically accused the senior judges in his interview of shedding off merit and transparency in their under-trial cases in the fulfillment of mere desires of their family members, spouses, and children through the announcement of biased verdicts and serving of tainted justice.
In fact, persistent political unrest and dogfights between the parties, not only eroded people’s trust in the public institutions but this curse seriously polarized and corrupted our national institutions, and undermined institutional discipline and professional ethics. The institutional politics not only disturbed the working environment of the national institutions but prompted intra-institutional grouping and rivalries among the government servants and senior executives. Over the decades, the Pakistani judiciary fell victim to multiple institutional biases including nepotism, corruption, and no accountability of adjudicators and the lower staff that turned the justice delivery into a lucrative business causing serious social and legal issues for the society, system as well as the government. The current Supreme Judicial Council and incumbent Chief Justice Qazi Faez Esa took seriously the cases of professional misconduct and corruption on the part of the senior judges and members from the lower courts, revoked the legal provision barring accountability and prosecution of retired judges/ government prosecutors by continuing Supreme Judicial Council proceeding against former Judge Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi. After the completion of legal proceedings, the top Judicial body declared retired Justice Naqvi of professional misconduct and abuse of authority.
The recent decisions of the top judicial forum are a remarkable milestone in our national history, wherein top judges sat aside the so-called institutional prestige and communal interests and have taken a principled approach clumping hard on institutional menaces in the judiciary that is the most vital organ of the country. Historically, there is a common perception that judges, generals, and bureaucrats are sacred cows and immune from accountability and prosecution not only in the service but thereafter throughout life. These unconstitutional notions, bureaucratic norms, and nepotism seriously marred the justice system of the country wherein courts, police, and other government institutions backed each other making the matter worse, converting the legal and social issues into catastrophes in the past decades. When it comes to national affairs, there is a need to adopt broad patriotic policies instead of narrow vision, ethnic, institutional, or political approaches. So our constitution, federation, and institutions become strong against personalities, parties, and religious and ethnic pressure groups. These are the foundations of modern societies that glorify a nation in the world.
