On December 14, a five-judge larger bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, is scheduled to consider the constitutional petition filed by former Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui against his removal.
The bench comprises Justice Aminud Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan.
The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) found Siddiqui guilty of misconduct based on a speech he delivered in July 2018 before the Rawalpindi District Bar Association. In that speech, Siddiqui made allegations against personnel of a security agency, accusing them of manipulating judicial proceedings.
Last month, Siddiqui filed a miscellaneous application with the Supreme Court, urging an early hearing of his petition against the SJC’s decision. The application seeks to declare the removal notification null and void. Siddiqui argues that his case, pending since October 2018, is related to his basic human rights, and the last hearing took place in June 2022.
Previously, a five-judge larger bench led by former CJP Umar Ata Bandial was handling Siddiqui’s petition. However, the matter remained unresolved during the tenures of the last two CJPs.
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