Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has initiated contempt proceedings in response to a complaint lodged against him and his alleged defamation on social media.
This development occurred after IHC’s Justice Babar Sattar also sought contempt proceedings over a social media campaign targeting him and his family.
Justice Kayani, the second-most senior IHC judge after the chief justice, has claimed that the social media campaign has “scandalized” him.
According to sources, Justice Kayani mentioned the complaint filed against him in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), as well as a vlog and a television program in which the complainant, Advocate Mohammad Waqas Malik, criticized the judge.
Complaints by both judges have yet to be heard as a bench to address the matter could not be convened.
This delay is due to IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq presiding over a meeting of the Justice Committee of the federal capital, which oversees the administration, operation, and development of the judiciary and security challenges within the federal capital.
The meeting, chaired by CJ Farooq on Tuesday, was attended by District and Sessions Judge (West) Azam Khan, District and Sessions Judge (East) Shahrukh Arjumand, Law and Justice Secretary Raja Naeem Akbar, Islamabad Chief Commissioner Chaudhry Mohammad Ali Randhawa, Inspector General Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, and other officials.
Advocate Malik filed the complaint against Justice Kayani days after he, and five other IHC judges, wrote a letter to the SJC against the meddling of intelligence agencies in judicial affairs.
Mr. Malik, a former Islamabad High Court Bar Association general secretary, alleged that the judge willfully “waged a war” against security forces “by inducing and convincing other judges of the high court.”
The complaint stated that “the action of the learned judge … is not initiated in good faith as he is facing ‘references’ questioning his integrity and conduct as a judge.”
This was an apparent reference to a separate complaint filed against Justice Kayani in October 2023, accusing the judge of granting relief to lawyers with whom he was acquainted from his time of practice.
Advocate Malik’s complaint claimed that intelligence agencies were required to keep a check on the ‘criminal intents’ of judges, but they had failed to do so.
It claimed that the letter by six IHC judges attempted to provoke the sentiments of people affiliated with a political party and had, in fact, maligned the office of a judge who indulged in political affairs for his personal gains.
The complaint sought actions against the judge under Article 209 of the Constitution.
