- IHC’s judge seeks SHC verdict be declared ‘null and void,’ arguing ‘one-sided order’ passed without hearing affected party
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri on Thursday challenged the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) ruling on his law degree in the Supreme Court, seeking to have the verdict declared “null and void.”
In his petition, Justice Jahangiri argued that the SHC had “dismissed my application to become a party to the case,” and maintained that passing a “one-sided order without hearing the affected party is contrary to law.”
On September 16, the IHC had already restrained Justice Jahangiri from performing judicial functions after a two-member bench issued an interim order on a writ petition filed under Article 199 of the Constitution. Justice Jahangiri then moved the Supreme Court, requesting the restraining order be set aside.
The petition further stated that the SHC “ignored the question of maintainability of the petition.” It requested the apex court to grant leave to appeal under Article 185(3) of the Constitution and “set aside the impugned order.” The province of Sindh and others have been named as respondents, while Dr Mohammad Usman Mirza has been appointed as defence counsel.
Fake Degree Controversy
The controversy stems from a letter circulated on social media last year, purportedly issued by the University of Karachi’s (KU) examinations department regarding the validity of Justice Jahangiri’s LLB degree. The letter was reportedly a response to a query under the Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2016.
According to the letter, candidate Tariq Mehmood obtained his LLB degree in 1991 under enrolment number 5968, but another student, Imtiaz Ahmed, had already been enrolled under the same number in 1987. Meanwhile, transcripts for LLB Part-I were issued under the name Tariq Jahangiri, and records also showed Tariq Mehmood enrolled under enrolment number 7124. The university clarified that while the degree was not outright bogus, it was “invalid” since a single programme cannot be completed under two separate enrolment numbers.
On July 10, 2024, the IHC described the campaign against Justice Jahangiri as “scurrilous,” holding that it was intended to malign the judge and prima facie amounted to contempt of court.
Later, lawyer Daud filed a writ petition seeking to bar Justice Jahangiri from judicial work until his degree was verified. Then-IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the plea. Around the same time, the SC registrar’s office raised objections, arguing Daud was not an aggrieved party and that the issue was already before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).
On September 1, 2024, the KU syndicate, on the recommendation of its Unfair Means (UFM) Committee, cancelled Justice Jahangiri’s degree and enrolment. The decision followed the detention of academic and syndicate member Riaz Ahmed, who was reportedly prevented from attending the key meeting but released later that evening after the syndicate had voted to revoke the degree.
On September 5, 2024, however, the SHC suspended KU’s decision, noting that the syndicate had acted in Justice Jahangiri’s absence and deprived him of the opportunity to defend himself. KU countered that there was sufficient evidence against the judge and maintained that a personal hearing was unnecessary.
Subsequently, on September 16, the IHC’s two-member bench led by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq Dogar and Justice Mohammad Azam Khan barred Justice Jahangiri from exercising judicial powers pending the SJC’s decision. Jahangiri then appealed to the Supreme Court.
Most recently, on September 25, a two-judge SHC bench declined to allow Justice Jahangiri to become a party in proceedings related to petitions challenging KU’s cancellation of his law degree.
