In an extraordinary turn of events, Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri on Monday challenged the presence of Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar on a bench convened to hear a petition concerning the verification of his own law degree, citing a direct conflict of interest.
Addressing the Chief Justice in open court, Justice Jahangiri expressed a lack of confidence in the bench and formally requested the matter be assigned to different judges. ‘You are also a judge and I am also a judge. I have filed a petition against you. This is a conflict of interest and you cannot sit in a case against me,’ he remarked.
The controversy originates from a plea filed by Advocate Mian Dawood, which seeks the verification of Justice Jahangiri’s LLB degree. The filing came after the University of Karachi (UoK) issued a notification on September 25, stating its syndicate had upheld a recommendation to cancel the academic qualification.
Defending the legitimacy of his credentials, Justice Jahangiri asserted that he stood by the validity of his degree. He pointed out that the university had neither declared the certificate fake nor denied its issuance.
Justice Jahangiri also raised serious procedural concerns, complaining that he received the court’s notice on Thursday for the Monday hearing without being provided a copy of the petition. He noted the case related to a matter that was 34 years old and requested additional time to prepare his response.
He further observed that a writ of quo warranto is typically heard by a single bench, not a division bench. Taking exception to being stopped from performing his judicial duties, which he called unprecedented, he argued against the swiftness of the proceedings. ‘Even in a murder case, an individual is charged after seven days, but I was given only three days’ notice,’ he stated.
In response, the IHC summoned the registrar of the University of Karachi along with the relevant academic record. The court also instructed that copies of the petition and all supporting documents be immediately supplied to Justice Jahangiri.
The petitioner, Advocate Mian Dawood, urged the court to conduct daily hearings on the matter, arguing that significant time had already elapsed. Chief Justice Dogar assured Justice Jahangiri that he would receive justice like any other litigant before the court adjourned the hearing until December 18, 2025.