Supreme Judicial Council Initiates Proceedings Against Justice Mazahar Naqvi Over Misconduct Allegations

The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has taken action against Supreme Court Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, as it commenced proceedings based on allegations of misconduct and other complaints. Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial, the head of SJC, forwarded the complaints against Justice Naqvi to senior council members for verification. The council includes Justice Qazi Faiz Isa, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, Justice Ahmed Ali Muhammad Sheikh, and Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti. The matter was sent to the senior member of SJC to confirm the references filed against the judge by the Pakistan Bar Council and others.

Justice Naqvi has come under scrutiny due to an audio leak allegedly involving him, in which former Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi was heard discussing court management. Several references have been filed against Naqvi in the SJC, accusing him of misconduct and possessing assets beyond his means. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has also accused him of bias against the party.

In April, two senior judges of the apex court, Justice Isa and Justice Masood, urged the Chief Justice to convene an SJC meeting to investigate the misconduct complaints against Justice Naqvi. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has instructed the relevant authorities to submit the asset details of Justice Naqvi, following corruption allegations against him. This development comes after the National Assembly directed the PAC to conduct a special audit of Justice Naqvi's accounts and sources of income.