Justice Ijazul Ahsan resigns day after Justice Mazahir Naqvi

The Supreme Court’s senior-most judge, Ijaz Ul Ahsan, resigned on Thursday, a day after Justice Mazahar Ali Naqvi resigned from office

According to the sources, Justice Ijazul Ahsan has sent his written resignation to the President, Dr. Arif Alvi, but the text has not been revealed yet.

Justice Ijazul Hassan, the third-most senior judge on the Supreme Court, was notably absent from today’s meeting of the Supreme Judicial Council. With his position in seniority, Justice Ijazul Ahsan was considered the leading candidate for the role of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, expected to assume the position in October 2024.

On March 10, 2024, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, the second-most senior judge in the hierarchy, is set to retire. Following Justice Ijaz’s resignation and Justice Sardar Tariq’s retirement, Justice Mansoor will ascend to become the most senior judge on the Supreme Court.

Additionally, with Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s anticipated retirement on October 25, 2024, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah is poised to step into the role of Chief Justice. These developments mark significant changes in the leadership structure of the Supreme Court.

Today, Justice Ejaz also recused himself from participating in the Supreme Judicial Council proceedings concerning Justice Mazahir Akbar Naqvi. It is noteworthy that Justice Mazahir Akbar Naqvi, who raised complaints of ‘misconduct,’ tendered his resignation a day ago.

In his resignation submitted to the President, Justice Naqvi expressed his gratitude for the honor of serving as a judge in both the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He cited the information being public and, to some extent, part of the public record, making it untenable for him to continue as a Supreme Court judge under the circumstances.

Emphasizing the importance of ‘due process,’ he stated that this consideration compelled his decision to resign from the position of a Supreme Court judge, effective immediately. The resigned judge from the Supreme Court vehemently denied the allegations lodged against him in his resignation letter.