Pakistan's top legal body rules to sack former Supreme Court judge for 'misconduct'

Islamabad, Mar 7 (PTI) In a landmark decision, a top Pakistan legal body on Thursday ruled to sack a former Supreme Court judge after finding him guilty of “misconduct”.
    Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi opted to resign in January this year following a probe into the complaints of corruption against him by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), a constitutional body powered to take action against judges of the top judiciary.
    The SJC headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa continued proceedings against Naqvi and finally found him guilty.
    “SJC rendered its opinion in respect of the nine complaints against Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi under Article 209(6) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and opined that he was guilty of misconduct and should have been removed from the office of Judge,” the SJC said in a statement.
    The Supreme Judicial Council examined nine complaints against Justice Naqvi and found him guilty. The Council has declared that Justice Naqvi should have been removed from his post.
    The complaints against Justice Naqvi in the SJC detailed the properties he allegedly got during his service. The SJC also recorded the statements of the witnesses and then pronounced a verdict declaring him guilty in the light of the evidence.
    The SJC sent its summary to sack Naqvi to President Arif Alvi who is bound to implement the recommendation.
    After removal from service, he would be deprived of a hefty pension and other benefits a top judge is entitled to get for his entire life. Instead, he would have to live a life infamy for sacking due to corruption.
    Naqvi had already resigned with the hope that the cases of corruption would be shelved but the Supreme Court empowered the Supreme Judicial Council to continue proceedings against any judge who resigns during the proceedings of the Council.
    The SJC also said that it got six complaints against judges but dismissed five due to lack of substance. However, one complaint against a judge from the High Court of Balochistan prompted the issuance of a notice, requiring the judge to provide a response within 14 days.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)