The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has filed a misconduct reference against three superior court judges for allegedly holding undeclared foreign properties, media reports said on Tuesday.
President Arif Alvi has reportedly filed the reference against the judges who possess undeclared foreign properties themselves or through their spouses but allegedly did not declare those properties in their wealth statements.
According to the reports, the reference was prepared by the law ministry with the help of a former Supreme Court judge. The government has also registered a complaint against some high court judges who own foreign properties.
The wife of one of the judges named in the reference owns a property in Spain which was not declared in the wealth statement of the judge. It is, however, unclear whether the tax records list the spouse as the judge’s dependent or not.
A complaint has also been lodged against a few high courts judges, one of whom allegedly owns an inherited property in the United Kingdom.
However, it couldn’t be confirmed whether the reference has been received by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) as there is no official confirmation from that end.
The legal fraternity has started consultations over the matter and has urged that the seriousness of the charges must be kept in mind before such references are filed.
According to Barrister Asad Rahim Khan, an active and fair-minded Supreme Judicial Council is necessary for the public to maintain faith in the judiciary. “At the same time, however, Article 209 of the constitution stipulates that a judge may only be removed if he is physically or mentally incapable of performing his duties, or if he has been guilty of misconduct. The seriousness and provability of the latter charge needs to be kept in mind before anyone embarks on filing such references,” he added.
