Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, a former judge of the Islamabad High Court, on Tuesday denied any links with any officer in the army, with his lawyer telling the Supreme Court that a top intelligence officer had allegedly himself visited the judge at the latter’s residence.
The former judge’s remarks came as a five-member larger bench of the apex court headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial resumed hearing an appeal instituted by Siddiqui against his removal from office.
Justice Siddiqui was removed from the high judicial office on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) under Article 209 of the Constitution for “displaying a conduct unbecoming of a judge” when he delivered a speech at the District Bar Association, Rawalpindi, on July 21, 2018.
The former judge had accused certain officers of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of interfering in the judiciary’s affairs. He alleged that the accused “manipulate the formation” of benches in high courts. The former judge had also blamed the judiciary for allegedly undermining democratic norms in the country.
