President Alvi accepts Justice Mazahar Naqvi’s resignation

President Arif Alvi has accepted the resignation of Supreme Court’s Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi who quit his position in the apex court yesterday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Justice Mazahir Naqvi forwarded his letter of resignation to the president on Wednesday after the Supreme Court rejected his plea to halt misconduct proceedings in the Supreme Judicial Council.

According to a statement issued on Thursday, President Arif Alvi on the advice of the prime minister has accepted Justice Mazahar Naqvi’s resignation under Article 179 of the Constitution.

After president's approval, the federal law ministriy notified Justice Naqvi's resignation effective from January 10, 2023.

In his resignation letter, Mazahar Naqvi said "In the circumstances which are a matter of public knowledge and to some extent public record, it is no longer possible for me to continue to serve as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan."

Naqvi further wrote "considerations of due process also compel" him to leave his position.

"I, therefore, effective today, resign as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan," Justice Naqvi stated.

In the letter, Justice Naqvi noted that it was an honour to have been appointed first to the Lahore High Court (LHC) and then to the top court in the country.

Justice Naqvi had been facing no less than ten complaints in the Supreme Judicial Council and had been twice issued show-cause notices over them. 

The resignation, however, came a day after the top court rejected a petition filed by Justice Naqvi seeking to halt the proceedings of the Supreme Judicial Council against him. He had received a shot in the arm in the form of a letter written by Justice Ijazul Ahsan, who stated the reasons for his disagreement with the Supreme Judicial Council sending show-cause notices to Justice Naqvi.

In his letter, Justice Ahsan noted that the proceedings against Justice Naqvi were being conducted in undue haste while the allegations levelled against the judge of the Supreme Court were 'utterly without merit or substance', and where everything was based on hearsay or worse.

Advocate Mian Dawood, who had filed some of the complaints against Justice Naqvi, termed the resignation as an admission of the judge's guilt, adding that they would challenge the resignation so that the case would be taken to its logical end.

Reporter Awais Kiyani