Pakistan’s ex-judge gets justice, but late

The Supreme Court declared the Supreme Judicial Council’s decision of dismissing Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui as null and void.

A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faiz Isa, Justice Aminuddin, Justice Jamal Mandokhel, Justice Hasan Rizvi and Justice Irfan Saadat completed the hearing on Shaukat Siddiqui’s constitutional petitions on January 23, 2024.

The court has now issued a 22-page detailed judgment in the case, which was written by the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

In the SC verdict, it has been said that the dismissal of Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui by the Supreme Judicial Council is declared illegal, Similarly, the president’s notification issued on October 11, 2018 for his dismissal on the recommendation of the then prime minister is also declared null and void.

It has been said, in the court decision, that Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui cannot be reinstated. However, he should be considered as a retired judge of Islamabad High Court and will be entitled to all benefits and pension.

It should be noted that Islamabad High Court Judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui was removed from office on October 11, 2018 for speaking against secret agencies.

The then senior judge of the Islamabad High Court, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, during his speech at the Rawalpindi Bar on 21 July 2018, accused the sensitive institutions of interfering in the judicial work.

Former judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui’s statement also drew a reaction from the Pakistan Army’s Public Relations Department (ISPR) demanding an investigation into the allegations leveled against state institutions.