Proceedings begin against SC judge in SJC

• CJP forwards complaints against judge to senior SJC members.
• Allegations against him pertain to misconduct, corruption, others.
• Top court judge under scrutiny following audio leak related to him.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) Wednesday initiated proceedings against Supreme Court Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi over allegations of misconduct and other complaints.

According to the media reports, Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial, the SJC head, had forwarded the complaints against Justice Mazahar Naqvi to the senior members of the Supreme Judicial Council for verification.

The council comprises 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. CJP Bandial sent the matter to the senior member of the SJC for confirmation of the filed references against the judge by the Pakistan Bar Council and others.

The top court judge is under scrutiny following an audio leak related to him. In the alleged audio, former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi could be heard talking about managing courts.

Several references have been filed against Naqvi in the SJC for alleged misconduct and having assets beyond means, with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) also blaming him for being "biased" against the party.

Two of the senior judges of the apex court, Justice Isa and Justice Masood, in April, had urged the CJP to convene a meeting of the SJC to investigate the misconduct complaints filed against Justice Naqvi.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had earlier this month instructed authorities concerned to submit the asset details of Supreme Court Justice Naqvi.

The development came after the National Assembly asked the PAC to carry out a special audit of Justice Naqvi’s accounts and sources of income following corruption allegations against him.