Islamabad Dec18: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declared the appointment of Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri illegal and ordered his removal from office.
The decision was announced after the hearing of the degree controversy case against Justice Jahangiri. During the proceedings, arguments were presented by several lawyers, including Barrister Salahuddin, Akram Sheikh, Raja Aleem Abbasi, and others, while the petitioner Mian Dawood Advocate also addressed the court.
Barrister Salahuddin requested that the case be adjourned indefinitely, arguing that the matter fell within the jurisdiction of the Sindh High Court and was therefore not maintainable before the Islamabad High Court. He stated that he was not arguing the case on merit but only on the maintainability of his petitions and sought 30 days to submit a reply.
He contended that for the past one and a half years, propaganda had been carried out alleging that Justice Jahangiri’s degree was fake. However, he said that the Registrar of Karachi University had admitted before the court that Justice Jahangiri had appeared in LLB Parts I, II, and III, and that the issue was related to irregularities in the degree issuance process, not a fake degree.
Barrister Salahuddin further argued that Karachi University had issued the degree and later cancelled it due to procedural irregularities, adding that it was yet to be determined whether the university’s stance after 40 years was truthful. He also pointed out that the Sindh High Court had suspended the university’s declaration and all related proceedings, a fact he said was concealed in the reply submitted before the Islamabad High Court.
He informed the court that a contempt petition had been filed in the Sindh High Court against the Registrar of Karachi University for allegedly concealing facts. He maintained that under these circumstances, the Islamabad High Court could not proceed with the case.
During the hearing, the Chief Justice questioned why a reply had not yet been submitted in the Islamabad High Court, to which Barrister Salahuddin responded that the HEC record was received only a day earlier at 3 pm. The Chief Justice remarked that if a reply had been filed before the Sindh High Court, it should also have been submitted before the Islamabad High Court.
After hearing the arguments, the judges retired to chambers. Later, court staff announced that the verdict would be pronounced at 3 pm, following which the court declared Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri ineligible and ordered his removal from office.