I Swear on the Quran My Degree Is Genuine: Justice Jahangiri

Islamabad High Court Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri has expressed no confidence in the bench of Chief Justice Islamabad High Court Justice Sardar Sarfaraz Dogar in his degree dispute case and requested to transfer the case to another bench.

The case related to Justice Tariq Jahangiri’s educational credentials was heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar and Justice Azam Khan, where Justice Tariq Jahangiri himself appeared in court, while lawyers from the Islamabad Bar Association were also present during the hearing.

At the beginning of the hearing, Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar instructed the lawyers to sit down and said that the honorable Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri was present in the court.

On this occasion, Justice Tariq Jahangiri took the position that he received the notice only on Thursday and was not provided with a copy of the petition along with the notice, even though this case is 34 years old, so he should be given time to prepare.

Justice Tariq Jahangiri objected to the Chief Justice joining the bench, saying that there was a conflict of interest in this matter and the Chief Justice could not hear the case.

He argued that a single bench, not a division bench, always hears a petition for a writ of certiorari, and that preventing him from judicial work is an unusual move in judicial history.

On this, Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar remarked that they will also get justice the same way other citizens are provided justice.

Justice Tariq Jahangiri further said that even in serious cases like murder, time is given to file charges, while he was given only three days’ notice, which is against judicial principles.

He said that if this kind of judicial precedent were established, the consequences would be dangerous.

During the discussion in court, Justice Tariq Jahangiri, taking an oath on the Holy Quran, said that his degree was absolutely genuine and the university had never said that the degree was fake.

Finally, Justice Tariq Jahangiri made it clear that he did not have confidence in the current bench, so the case should be transferred to another bench and they should be given adequate time.

Later, the Islamabad High Court summoned the Registrar of Karachi University along with the complete record and ordered Justice Tariq Jahangiri to provide the petition and relevant documents and adjourned the further hearing of the case until December 18.