ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday set aside the dismissal of former Islamabad High Court (IHC) senior puisne judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui.

In January, a five-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and including Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Irfan Saadat had reserved its verdict on Siddiqui’s plea against his removal. The proceedings of the case were broadcast live on the apex court’s website.

In his petition, the former judge had challenged a decision of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) about his dismissal from service and an Oct 11, 2018 notification under which he was removed for a speech he had delivered at Rawalpindi Bar Association.

In his speech, Justice Siddiqui had accused the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of influencing the court proceedings and forming benches of choice.

Siddiqui had nominated seven individuals in his amended plea, however, the court remarked that three others former chief of army staff Qamar Javed Bajwa, and two retired brigadiers Faisal Marwat and Tahir Wafai had no direct connection with the case.

On January 22, former ISI director general retired Lt Gen Faiz Hameed submitted his response to Justice Siddiqui’s petition, wherein he rejected the allegations of his involvement in constituting IHC benches to prolong the detention of former premier Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz. The ex-spymaster claimed Justice Siddiqui had dragged him into the case for no reason.

In the last hearing, the SC had raised questions about whether the SJC followed due process before ordering his termination.

In its written verdict, the SC said that the SJC’s opinion about Siddiqui’s dismissal and the subsequent notification issued on Oct 11, 2018 were “set aside”.

“Consequently, Justice Siddiqui shall be deemed to have retired as a judge of the IHC and he will be entitled to receive all the benefits and privileges due to a retired judge, by allowing these petitions in the above term,” the order said.